


A Prince and Knight

by Ireallylovepuppies101



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime)
Genre: A prince and knight AU, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-22
Updated: 2017-11-27
Packaged: 2019-02-05 13:42:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 17
Words: 32,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12795798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ireallylovepuppies101/pseuds/Ireallylovepuppies101
Summary: This is a story about a smart Prince being saved by a stranger and his amazing gift. Soon enough though, the Prince will be returning the favor and saving his knight in shinning armor. (I suck at summaries.)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> this story can also be found on my tumblr. https://pokemonshipseverywhere.tumblr.com/tagged/A+Prince+and+his+Knight+AU/page/2

Once upon a time, there was a prince. He was a very smart prince, inventing things he hoped would help the people of his kingdom. His father, the king, was a very kind man, and his sister was a sweet little girl, though she always tried finding her brother a nice princess to marry, which got a bit embarrassing. One day though, late at night the young prince was heading back to his room after a long day inventing.  
He never got back to his room. The next morning the Prince’s personal maid went to wake him up, only to find his bed empty. Sending out his best knights, the king could only pray for them to find his missing son.  
____________

Sighing, Ash sat down under a nice big tree. The sun was finally going down for the day, so he decided to rest for the night. Letting Pikachu jump down from his shoulder, the young traveler reached into his bag and pulled out an apple. “Last one. Pikachu, use Iron Tail.” Nodding, Pikachu’s tail got a metallic glow to it as he jumped up and sliced the apple in two. Ash gave one piece of the apple to Pikachu and petted his head.  
“Good job buddy. We should be getting to the next town soon so we can re-stock our food.” He watched as his partner took a large bite out of the sweet apple, smiling, Ash was about to take a bite of his apple as well, until he suddenly sensed something. You see, Ash is an Aura User, able to use aura to fight and see things others can’t see, which comes in handy a lot in his life.   
Not many people have these abilities, but the few who do are feared and hunted down to be destroyed. So Ash is always moving to avoid being caught by people who are either wanting him dead, or out to use his powers for their own greedy needs. So when Ash sensed something he quickly tensed. He thought he was the only person in these woods, other then the wild pokemon wandering around out here.

Closing his eyes, Ash used his Aura to see the other people’s Auras. They were half a mile away, three- no, four of them and a few pokemon. The fourth one though was a bit further away from the other three, and the pokemon with them was surrounding the fourth one? Opening his eyes, Ash looked in the direction of where the people he sensed were. Something wasn’t right here, The fourth Aura he sensed felt, scared.  
Putting his apple back in his bag, the young traveler got to his feet. “Come on Pikachu.” Slightly confused by his partner, Pikachu quickly ate the rest of his apple and hopped back onto Ash’s shoulder. After a few minutes of walking, Ash started to see a faint glow of a fire and the chatter of the people there. quieting his footsteps, the young traveler crept forward to a tree close enough so he could hear and see better. He started to make out the voices.  
“Come on kid, you have to be hungry by now! We can’t let you die of starvation!” Eyes widening in shock, Ash peaked over the side of the tree. He saw three people in hot red clothing, three Houndours, and a young man around his age, tied to a tree. He had his head turned away from the man in red holding food to his face, mouth and eyes closed tightly as he trembled slightly.

Sighing in annoyance, the man in red turned to his companions for help. A woman in the group stood up and walked over, grabbing the boy’s face and forcing him to look at her. “Listen you spoiled brat, either you eat yourself or we’ll force you. Our boss said you had to be alive but he didn’t say you had to be unharmed. Now either you eat, or the Houndours use your legs as chew toys.”  
Okay, Ash has seen enough. Coming out from where he was hiding, Ash pointed at the Houndours that were getting to close for comfort to the young man. “PIKACHU, THUNDERBOLT!” Nodding and giving a “Pika!” as a response, Pikachu jumped off of Ash’s shoulder and shouted “PIKAAAAA-CHUUUUUU!” as he fired an extremely powerful blast of electricity at the surprised Houndours.  
Unprepared for the attack, the Houndours got hit full blast of the thunderbolt and were knocked out. The three people in red looked surprised as Ash quickly rushed in front of the young man. “Back off or else!” Quickly getting over their surprise, the three people in red quickly pulled out their weapons. One of the men chuckled. “Or else what you little brat? You may have gotten us by surprise but no way are you walking away from this.”

Smirking, Ash pointed his hand at them, and created a energy ball of Aura form in his palm. The three quickly jumped back in fear. “CRAP! He’s an Aura User!” Ash watched as the three people in red started to back away as he stepped forward towards them. “That’s right, and if you don’t leave now I’ll have no mercy on you for kidnapping and threatening a helpless young man. Now take your pokemon and GO!”  
Not wanting to mess with Ash now, the three people in red quickly gathered their unconscious pokemon and got the hell out of there. Sighing in relief, Ash let his hand down and made the Aura energy ball in his palm disappear. He wasn’t entirely sure he could handle fighting three people at once, but boy was he glad they bought that! Turning around, he faced the young man who was staring at him in complete shock.  
Walking over, Ash started untying the ropes around the young name’s upper body while Pikachu chewed up the ropes around his legs. “Are you okay?” The young man just kept staring at him as Ash untied him, until he finally said. “You’re an Aura User.” Ash sighed in response. “Yes I am, and before you ask, I’m not evil. That’s just garbage people say because they’re scared, of, us…”

Finally finished untying the ropes, Ash froze when he noticed the outfit he was wearing. Those were royal clothing. This guy was a prince. He just used his AURA in front of him. The young man seemed to notice his rescuers extreme worry. “Wait please! I never believed Aura Users to be truly evil!” Ash picked up Pikachu and nervously stepped back, eyeing him suspiciously. “Really?”  
The young man nodded. “Yes, I always found it despicable how people are treated poorly because they’re different. My name is Clemont, I am the Prince of Lumiose. My Father is King Meyer.” Relaxing a little bit, Ash still kept a bit of a distance. “I heard of your father. People say he’s a very nice king and doesn’t believe in execution for punishments. Did those people capture you to get something from him?”  
Sighing, Clemont looked down at the ground sadly. “I have no idea. I was to scared to ask any questions. They captured me so easily and I couldn’t defend myself. My father and sister must be so worried…” Staring for a moment, Ash looked in the direction where the three people in red went. If he left Clemont here by himself he might get caught again, or get eaten by something.

He didn’t exactly want that on his conscious, so the young traveler turned to the Prince. “Okay, here’s the deal. I’ll take you home, but you have to SWEAR you won’t tell anyone I’m an Aura User.” Clemont quickly nodded. “Absolutely. I swear I won’t tell anyone.” Turning around, Ash began walking, but he soon stopped when he didn’t hear footsteps following him and turned around to face the prince. “Aren’t you coming?” Blushing, the prince rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “I uh, lost my glasses when they grabbed me. I can’t really see anything.” Sighing, Ash walked back and grabbed Clemont’s hand, leading him as they walked. After a few minutes he heard the Prince’s stomach growl. Remembering the apple half he had, Ash reached into his bag and pulled it out for Clemont. “Here.”  
The young Prince blinked in surprise, recognizing the red blur in front of his face as part of an apple. He took it and looked at Ash. “Thank you. I never got your name.” Hesitating for a second, Ash turned to the young prince. “It’s Ash.”


	2. Chapter 2

Instead of resting for the rest of the night like he originally planned, Ash ended up rescuing a kidnapped Prince and walking all the way to the closest town. They couldn’t afford to stop and risk those people in red to attack them as they rested. So, they kept walking for a few hours. Pikachu fell asleep in Ash’s free arm and he could tell Prince Clemont was getting tired because of how often he had to tug on his arm to tell him to speed up.  
Once they did get to the closest town, Ash had the Prince put on some of his spare clothes so people wouldn’t be able to recognize him and try doing anything in order to get money from the king. Thankfully there was a small bar still open with a few people in there. After paying for some food, Ash left Clemont with Pikachu to wait for their meal to finish cooking and asked around for a ride to Lumiose.   
Thank Arceus, he found a guy delivering Miltank milk and said they could ride in the back of his cart. Once everything was ready to go, the boys and Pikachu got comfortable in the back of the cart and ate as they continued their journey to Lumiose. Ash watched as the Prince happily ate his food, even if it tasted pretty burnt. He must not have eaten much while captured judging by how fast he was eating.

Swallowing his food, Ash finally spoke up. “So, how about you tell me a little about yourself?” Looking up at Ash in surprise, Clemont swallowed. “Well, um, where do you want to me start?” Shrugging, Ash took a drink of water and handed the water container to Clemont so he could have a drink. “I don’t know, how about your hobbies or the things you like?”  
Over the next few hours, the boys talked about each other. Clemont apparently liked to invent when he wasn’t busy, he had a Luxray companion, and also likes to cook with the chef in the castle. Ash told him about the places he traveled to and the wonderful things he saw. Though halfway through talking about one of the more recent places he’s seen, he noticed Clemont fell asleep with Pikachu in his lap.   
Smiling a little to himself, Ash looked at the sky. The sky was brightening up meaning the sun was going show up soon. Might as well get some rest then.  
_________________________

“Pikaaaaa-CHUUUUUUUU!” Letting out a scream, Ash’s eyes snapped open and looked around, only to see the Prince trying not to laugh and Pikachu with a big dumb grin on his face. The traveler gave his partner a dirty look as he roughly petted him. “Very funny buddy. Are we there yet?” Clemont nodded. “Yup, I can’t thank you enough for getting me here Ash. It was incredibly nice of you.”  
Ash and Pikachu watched as Clmeont carefully climbed out of the cart before Ash got out of the cart himself with Pikachu. “You sure you can get there by yourself?” nodding again, the Prince started to walk. “I’ve lived here my whole life, I know where to go so I won’t-” Before he could finish talking, Clemont bonked his head on a low hanging sign. He stumbled back and covered his forehead where he was sure was going to get a bruise.  
Trying not to laugh, Ash took Clemont’s hand again and started leading him towards the castle. “No offence, but your eye sight is as good as a zubats your highness.” Clemont just grumbled in response, making Ash chuckle and Pikachu giggle.  
_________________

Walking into the throne room, the captain of the royal guards knelled before king Meyer. “No sign of the Prince yet your majesty. I’m so terribly sorry.” The king’s grip on the thrones arm rests tightened. “Keep looking Lysandre. I want my son home.” Before Lysandre had a chance to respond, the doors to the thrown were swung open and rushed towards her father. “DADDY DADDY! CLEMONT’S HOME!”  
Both adults in the room looked surprised at the Princess’s announcement. Meyer quickly got up and rushed with his daughter through the castle. Once they got to the front entrance they saw a strange boy with a pikachu, with Clemont. Bonnie rushed ahead of her father and threw herself at her brother. “BIG BROTHER!” Clemont smiled and wrapped her arms around his little sister and rubbed her back as she cried against his chest.  
“I was so scared I’m never see you again! I missed you so much Clemont!” His arms around his sister tightened as he teared up. “I missed you too Bonnie.” The two sibling suddenly yelped in surprise when their father scooped them both up in a hug. “Clemont! Thank Arceus! I’m so glad you’re safe!” Clemont managed to wiggle his arm free and wrapped it around Meyer. “I had a little help getting here Dad.”

Looking up, he saw the young boy standing nearby with his Pikachu. He bowed nervously. “Greetings your highness. I’m Ash and this is my Pikachu. I’m glad you are your family are- WHOA!” Caught completely by surprised, Ash and Pikachu were pulled into the group hug by the king himself. “Thank you so much for returning my son to me!” Looking over at Clemont, who just shrugged in response, Ash nervously patted the king. “You’re welcome sir.”  
Stepping forward, Lysandre cleared his throat. “Welcome back young Prince. I’m terribly sorry for what happen, I swear on my life it won’t happen again.” Once Meyer let go of all of them, Clemont turned to the captain of the royal guards. “It’s quite alright. I’m just glad to be home Lysandre.” Nodding, the captain looked at Ash. “May I escort this young man on his way out sir?”  
Meyer patted Ash’s back, almost making you young traveler fall over from the kings strength. “Nonsense! He brought my son back, I want to give this boy a proper thank you! How about dinner and a night here before you continue on your way?” Rubbing the spot where the king patted him, Ash looked at Pikachu, who looked as unsure as he was about this. “I don’t know…”

Feeling small hands wrap around his arm, Ash looked down to see the princess smiling at him with big eyes. “Oh please stay! You were so nice to bring back my big brother, it’s the least we could do!” Staring at the princess for a second, Ash sighed in defeat. “Oh, alright. It’s kinda hard saying no to those eyes.” Meyer smiled and looked at Lysander. “Tell the cooks to get a nice meal ready and to set an extra plate for our guest.”  
Lysandre bowed with a “Yes sir.” Before walking off. Ash watched as the very tall man walked off, he could have sworn he felt a small hint of irritation coming from the caption of the royal guard’s Aura, but as soon as he felt it, it was gone. Maybe he was just tired and was just feeling things that weren’t there. Oh well.  
______________________________

“You had ONE JOB!” The three people in red cringed as they bowed in front of Lysandre. The woman of the group lifted her head. “Sir we’re so sorry! That boy came out of no where!” Lysandre glared down at them. “How hard is it to get rid of a boy and his Pikachu?!” Swallowing nervously, one of the men looked up as well.  
“Sir, that boy, he’s an Aura User. We saw him use his Aura with our own eyes…” Surprised, Lysandre mind remembered the young travelers face. That boy couldn’t possibly be an Aura User. Could he? Lysandre ran his fingers though his beard in though. “Really now….. Change of plans then. The Prince and Princess will be heavily guarded now thanks to your failures, but I want that Ash boy to be watched closely. If what you claim is true, then we won’t need to bribe our way towards our goals.”


	3. Chapter 3

Collapsing on the bed he’d be sleeping on for the night, Ash patted his stomach with a smile. “Wow, so that’s what it’s like to eat like a king.” Pikachu, laying next to his partner, smiled too as he rubbed his stomach. “Pikaaaa.” A small knock on the door to their room suddenly got their attention. Getting up, Ash walked to the door and opened it, a little surprised to see Clemont, and his loyal Luxray by his side. “Your Highness. May I help you?”  
Clemont adjusted his new glasses. Before dinner the Prince got the chance to clean up and get some new clothes on, along with new glasses so he could actually see without walking into something. The glasses actually suited him. “Y-you can just call me Clemont. Can we talk?” Slightly confused, Ash let the Prince and his pokemon into his room and closed the door. He sat down on his bed and waited for Clemont to talk.  
The young Prince nervously sat down next to Ash and petted Luxray’s head. “…..What’s it like, being, you know?” Clemont tensed when he saw Ash get a serious look on his face. “I-I’m sorry! Is that to personal? Never mind I-” Ash held up his hand. “No it’s okay. It’s understandable if you’re curious. Not many people really know about us.” Pulling Pikachu into his lap, Ash began to talk.

“1 person out of a group of 10 will most likely be an Aura User. My mom told me I get my abilities from my fathers side, but, he left before I was even born so I don’t have anyone to guide me. Just an old book my mom held onto over the years for me. I won’t lie, it’s pretty hard having these abilities. People automatically think we’re out to destroy everything just because we’re stronger then a normal human. Though in reality, we’re no different then a pokemon when it comes to power. Just because we’re not like other people, we’re treated like garbage. Either killed or used by greedy people. I left home in order to keep my mom safe just in case. I write letters to her now and then to assure her I’m safe.” The young traveler smiled a little as Pikachu rubbed against him. He gave his partner a nice scratch behind the ear.  
“Pikachu has always been by my side though. Without him I’d probably go nuts.” Clemont watched the interaction between the boy and his Pikachu. “You two must really care about each other huh? Just like Luxray and I.” Ash chuckled. “Well yeah, Pikachu’s been my best friend for years! We’ve been through a lot together. Right buddy?” Zoned out from being petted, Pikachu just gave a “Chaaa~!” as a response. Making the two chuckle.

Clearing his throat, the Prince looked at Ash nervously. “I’m glad you shared this information with me Ash, but the real reason I came to talk, was that I wanted to ask if you could stay and teach me self defense.” Ash looked surprised and raised an eyebrow. “You want ME to teach you self defense. Why not one of the guards?” Sighing, Clemont rubbed his forehead in annoyance. “I’m the prince. You think they’d really teach me and risk me getting hurt because of them?”  
Giving a shrug, Ash leaned back a bit. “Hm, true. Not to mention they kinda do poorly at their job. Those three that had you were total wimps.” Luxray growled at the mention of the people who took Clemont. The Prince petted his head to calm him down. “It’s okay boy. Yes they were whimps when it came to fighting, but they were very sneaky. Managing to sneak in the castle and knock me out. If this happens again, I want to be prepared.”  
Ash looked over at Clemont. Well, he sure looked serious about wanting to learn. Also learning how to protect himself would come in handy if something like that ever happened again. “Okay, I’ll teach you what I know. We start tomorrow.” The smile on Clemont’s face when Ash agreed almost made the whole room light up. “Oh thank you Ash! I promise I’ll try my best!”

Chuckling a little at the Prince’s excitement, the two boys bid each other a good night before Clemont left the room. Ash laid down in bed, petting Pikachu as he got comfortable on his partner’s stomach. “Well, tomorrow should be pretty interesting.”  
________________

*THUD*  
“Your stance is totally wrong. makes it easy to knock you down.” Clemont groaned from his spot on the ground, taking Ash’s hand and getting pulled back to his feet. Hearing the giggling from behind him, Clemont turned to give his sister a dirty look. “Bonnie are you here to cheer me on or make fun of me?” From her spot a few feet away with Pikachu, Luxray, and her little Dedenne, Bonnie smiled sweetly.  
“A little of both actually. Now go kick his butt big brother!” Groaning again, Clemont dusted off his clothing that were now getting dirty from getting thrown around. Ash walked over to him and patted his shoulder. “Maybe we should take a quick break and talk about your progress.” Nodding in agreement, Clemont and Ash went over to Bonnie and the pokemon and sat down.  
As Bonnie handed them some water and fruit, Ash talked about the things Clemont was getting better at, but also some things he needed to work on. “Also you might want to figure out something for your glasses. If you’re not careful you could loose them during a fight, then you’d be in trouble.” Humming in though, Clemont took off his glasses and looked them over, taking Ash’s words into serious consideration.

Bonnie looked up at Ash curiously. “So did you really travel all over the world like you told us during dinner last night?” the young traveler smiled down at the Princess. “Sure did! saw all kinds of towns, people, and pokemon.” The moment the word pokemon came out of Ash’s mouth Bonnie got an excited look on her face. “Really?! Oh what kind? Did you meet any super rare ones?”  
Ash chuckled. “Actually, I’ve met the rares pokemon in the world before. Mew.” Both the Prince and the Princess looked at Ash completely shocked. Clemont was the first to speak. “You met a Mew? No way!” The young traveler laughed at the royal sibling’s disbeleif. “Oh I met one all right. It was really playful too huh Pikachu?” Pikachu nodded and said “Pikachu pika!”  
The two siblings listened carefully to Ash’s tales of meeting rare and powerful pokemon, even their pokemon looked deeply interested in the stories. When Ash was just about done with a story about meeting a Victini Bonnie sighed. “Oh if only you were a Princess! You’re so amazing I’d ask you right away for you to take care of my big brother!” Clemont quickly covered his sister’s mouth, turned a deep shade of red in embarrassment. “BONNIE!”

Ash just gave her a confused stare. “Take care of him? You mean like a servant? I’m not really sure if that’s a job I’d really want.” Clemont and Bonnie gave him a blank look as Pikachu shook his head as if to say “Oh brother.” Bonnie pulled her brother’s hand away from her mouth. “Wow, that sure flew over your head didn’t it?”  
___________

After that the two boys continued Clemont’s training.By the end of the training, Clemont looked tired beyond belief and was rubbing his aching shoulders. “This is a lot harder then I expected…” Ash chuckled and patted the Prince’s back. “You’ll get the hand of it. Who knows, some day you might throw me around like a rag doll too.” The young traveler tried not to laugh as the Prince grumbled to himself. After a few minutes of walking in silence Ash spoke up again.  
“By the way, you think you can help me out with something?” Clemont looked up at him curiously. “Uh, sure, what is it?” Looking around real quick to make sure there weren’t any guards close enough to hear them, Ash reached into his bag he brought with him and pulled out an old book. “This is the book I was talking about before. Considering my social status, I’m not the best reader in the world. You think you could help?”  
Taking the book into his own hands, Clemont flipped through the pages that are written in a foreign language. “Well, thankfully I learned how to read in more then one language. I think I can help you learn more of the things in this book, which are very impressive might I add. I didn’t know you could do so much with Aura.” The young traveler smiled at the Prince. “Thanks Clemont. This means a lot.”

Smiling as well, Clemont handed the book back to Ash who put it back in his bag. “You’re doing so much for me, it’s the least I could do.” As the two continued talking and walking with their pokemon, they were unaware of the captain of the royal guards further down the hall watching them closely. He was to far to hear their conversation, but he was determined to learn more about this Ash boy.


	4. Chapter 4

Adjusting his glasses, Clemont read the Aura book Ash owned very carefully. He looked back at Ash who was focusing energy in the palm on his hands. They finally had enough free time to sneak to Clemont privet lab in the castle so they could practice Ash’s Aura powers. The look on Ash’s face when he saw all of his inventions made Clemont laugh, he looked like a little kid in a toy store.  
When the young traveler was finally done admiring the Prince’s work, they got down to buisness. Reading the information over again, Clemont looked back at Ash. “Okay so you have to focus really hard on this, because if you don’t you-” BOOM! The next thing either of them knew, Ash was on the ground, coughing up dust that his attack created. He sat back up and smiled awkwardly. “Uh, oops.”  
Removing his dirty glasses, Clemont pulled out a handkerchief to clean them off while Pikachu shook himself clean and Luxray attempted to lick himself clean. “Well, maybe we’ll have a better shot next time. At least you’re getting better with the Aura Shield.” Before Ash could say anything, the two jumped a little when they heard a knock at the lab door.  
Quickly stuffing the book back in Ash’s bag, Clemont went to open the door, relaxing a little when he saw his father.

“Dad, is something wrong?” Meyer looked over Clemont’s shoulder, seeing Ash sitting on the floor, and dust floating around the room. “Another invention mishap son?” The Prince looked behind him at Ash, who was trying to act casual as he got up and brushed off his clothes. “Something like that…" Chuckling, the king patted his son’s shoulder. "Well, can you put that invention on hold? I hope you didn’t forget we were going to get you a personal knight today.”  
The Prince groaned and smacked himself in the forehead. “I’m sorry dad that completely slipped my mind.” He turned back to Ash. “Sorry Ash, you can do as you please while I’m busy. I promise I’ll be back as soon as I can.”Letting Pikachu hop onto his shoulder, the young traveler just shrugged.  
“I think I’ll go with you. Might as well meet the guy that’s going to be stalking you for your own safety.” Clemont snorted at Ash’s comment but quickly covered it with a cough. Meyer just sighed. “Now I know you’re not a fan of having a knight following you, but until things calm down you AND Bonnie are getting a personal knight to keep you two safe. Okay?”

Clemont nodded. “Okay Dad. Come along Luxray.” After walking for a few minutes, The king, Prince, and traveler met up with Lysandre in the training feild of the castle where guards, knights, and pokemon practiced and improved their skills to protect the kingdom. Lysandre bowed to the king. “Your highness. I believe I have found a few brave souls worthy enough to protect the Prince.”  
Turning around, the captain of the royal guards called out to one of the knights practicing with his very powerful looking Charizard. the man and his pokemon rushed to their side and both of them bowed. “It is an honor to meet you your highness.” Lysandre turned back to the king and prince with a smile. “This is Alain. One of the best and most dedicated knights I’ve had the honor of teaching. He has impressed me so much with his stills, I rewarded him with a Mega Stone.”  
Ash raised an eyebrow in confusion. “What’s that?” The knight Alain smiled and pulled down the sleeve of his shirt, revealing a bracelet with a stone on it, similar to the one his Charizard was wearing. “A Mega Stone is a special stone that can make a temporary evolution form for some pokemon, but only when a human it trusts holds a key stone and their bond unlocks the new form.”

The look on Ash’s face was almost as excited as when he saw Clemont’s lab. “Wow! That’s so cool! Can that work on Pikachu?” Alain chuckled at the boy’s excitement. “I’m afraid not. Pikachu isn’t fully evolved and they haven’t discovered a Mega Stone for Richus yet. Sorry.” Sighing a little in disappointment, Ash looked at Pikachu. “Oh well, we don’t need a fancy stone to be stronger anyways, right Buddy?”  
Pikachu pumped his fist in the air with a determined “Pikachu!” in agreement. As the group continued talking about Clemont’s possible knight choices, the young traveler began to space out a little bit out of boredom. He started using his Aura a little bit to see more around him without having to move much. Kinda like having eyes in the back of your head.  
While doing this, Ash would see a few guards battling to strengthen their pokemon, some knights sword fighting, he could even see a group a bit further from them practicing arch- Snapping out of his train of thought, Ash grabbed Clemont and for a flash second, fast enough so no one would notice, put up his Aura shield as he pulled Clemont out of the way of a stray arrow flying right at them.

All the men there, including the pokemon, looked absolutly surprised when the arrow flew by them and hit the wall. Ash looked down at Clemont who he was still holding tightly against his chest. “Are you okay?” Clemont stared at the young traveler for a moment, a blush creeping up on his face. He eventually nodded to assure Ash that yes, he’s okay.  
While the guard who shot that arrow rushed over and apologized like crazy, Lysandre kept staring at the arrow in the wall. He looked back at where the guard came from, then at the two boys. The arrow changed dirrections. If it didn’t the arrow would have gotten either the Prince or the boy in the shoulder. The three were right all along. He looked back at the guard, who was bowing so low his head was touching the ground.  
“Please have mercy! I meant no harm! I was practicing my archery skills and-” Lysandre held up his hand. “Enough! You were reckless and could have seriously harmed one of us. We will talk about this later. You are dismissed for now.” Bowing again, the guard got up and quickly rushed off. Meyer sighed and put a gentle hand on his son’s shoulder. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

Clemont looked over at Ash, who finally let him go from his protective grip. “Thanks to Ash I am.” The young traveler just chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. “It was nothing, really.” Lysandre looked back at the arrow again, running his fingers through his beard in thought. “Actually young Ash, that was really something. You have very impressive reflex. If now for you our Prince could have been seriously hurt.”  
Looking at the Prince, Ash just shrugged. “I just didn’t want my friend getting hurt if I could prevent it. I picked up a few fighting and defense things while traveling.” Stepping forward, the captain of the royal guards placed a hand on Ash’s shoulder. “Really now? Well I’m really impressed by your skills Ash. You have great potential that could change our kingdom. Perhaps you could be the Prince’s personal knight?”  
The group looked at Lysandre surprised by his statement, Meyer thought about it for a quick moment and smiled. “You know, that’s not a bad idea. You have been teaching Clemont how to protect himself and you two get along great.” Ash and Pikachu looked at each other, both unsure. “I don’t know about this…” Releasing his grip on the Young traveler’s shoulder, Lysandre gave a small smile.

“We’ll let you think about it. I’ll be here if you decide to do it and we can begin the proper training of being a knight. Come along Alain.” Looking a bit confused, Alain followed his captain along with his Charizard. “Sir, might I ask why you so suddenly wanted to train that boy to be a knight?” Lysandre gave a small chuckled. “Like I said, that boy has potential that could change our kingdom. Who knows, possibly the world as well.”  
______________________________  
“A KNIGHT? Really? I’ve had job offers before but a knight is a first.” Clemont watched with Pikachu and Luxray as Ash walked around his lab. “Maybe it’s not a bad idea. Knights get paid very well, and you’ll be my personal knight so we’ll have more time together to practice.” Crossing his arms, Ash gave Clemont a nervous look. “But what if they find out about what I am? I don’t want to end up-”  
Moving from his spot, the Prince walked over to his friend. “Ash, I promise, no one will find out, and no one will harm you. I will be by your side the whole time. We can watch each other’s backs.” Still looking unsure, Ash looked down when he felt something against his leg. Pikachu smiled up at him with reassurance, his own way of saying he’ll be there with him too.  
Looking back at Clemont, the young traveler stared at those bright blue hopeful eyes, silently hopping for Ash to agree. He chuckled a little. “You and your sister are impossible to say no to. Alright. I’ll give it a shot.”


	5. Chapter 5

Humming happily to herself, Serena, Clemont’s personal maid and close friend, carried the Prince’s morning breakfast up to his room with her three pokemon, Braixen, Panchum, and Silveon. Once reaching Clemont’s bedroom door, the maid handed the tray of food to her Braixen to hold as she knocked on the door. “Prince Clemont, I’m here with breakfast!” Hearing a tired groan on the other side, Serena took that as a “Come in” and entered.  
taking the tray back from her pokemon, Serena placed it on the side table next to the Prince’s large bed and moved to the windows, yanking the curtains open to let the morning sun in. That just made the prince groan louder and hide under the blankets. “Serenaaaaaaa!” Ignoring the Prince’s protests, Serena walked over to his bed and yanked off the blankets as well. “Now don’t get mad at me, you’re the one who likes to stay up inventing.”  
Sighing in defeat, Clemont sat up and grabbed the tray on the side table, tiredly eating his breakfast while his maid looked for an outfit for him to wear that day. Serena had a better sense of fashion then Clemont did, so it was probably for the best that she helped pick out his look. Once he was done eating and got dressed, Clemont sat down in a chair in front of the large mirror while Serena fixed his bed head.

Taking notice of how oddly quiet the Prince was, Serena decided to start up some small talk. “So, I heard it’s Ash’s first day on being your knight.” The Prince could feel his face heat up at the mention of his new knight. “Yeah….You’ve spent time with Ash before right? What do you think of him?” Pausing from brushing out Clemont’s hair, Serena thought it over.  
“Well, he’s a very kind person. If he’s not glued to your side or training with Alain I can usually find him spending time with wild pokemon. He has a special way with them, they’re always so friendly towards him. There’s also his determination, I’ve seen how intense his training with Alain can get. Even with a training sword pointed at his throat he doesn’t give up.” Serena giggled a little. “He’s pretty cute too.”  
When Serena went back to brushing Clemont’s hair, she finally noticed how red he was turning. “Are, you okay?” Not trusting his own voice, the Prince just nodded timidly. It suddenly donned on the maid and she smirked. “Is the Prince getting tired of meeting princesses for future brides?” The deeper shade of red Clemont turned was a good enough answer for Serena. “Aaaaaw Clemont! You like him!”

Serena at that moment suddenly remembered an obvious problem. Clemont’s a prince, and Ash is just a knight. “Oh dear…” Sighing, Clemont rubbed his face. “I knooooow. I just can’t get that moment of being pressed against his chest out of my head and I start blushing when I’m near him. I blush so much he thought I had a fever yesterday. It’s so embarrassing.”  
Trying her best not to giggle at the Prince, Serena finished up Clemont’s hair as he continued talking. “It’s just a stupid crush anyways. My father expects me to find a princess to help me rule the kingdom. I can’t let him or my people down. Eventually I’ll get over it, and get on with my life.” Standing up from his chair, The Prince turned to his maid. “How do I look?”  
Looking him over, Serena smiled. “Like Prince Charming.” Rolling his eyes, Clemont left the room with Serena and their pokemon following.

_______________________

Sitting on the floor with a pout, Ash tried his best not to move while Alain helped stick a bandage on his cheek. Alain chuckled at the younger knight’s expression. “Sorry about that. I wasn’t purposely aiming for your face. It’s impressive how fast you can move and how skilled you are.” Ash just gave a small shrug. “You learn a lot when you travel. I’ve seen a lot different things.”  
Once Alain was done, he put the bandages and other supplies back in the medical bag they kept in the training area. “If you travel so much, what made you decide to stay? If you don’t mind me asking.” While petting Pikachu, Ash paused and thought about it. Why did he want to stay? “I’m, not really sure. Clemont just seemed like he really wanted me to stick around and I couldn’t say no. I can also send some money back home to my mom since this job pays me more then I need.”  
The older knight looked at Ash, raising an eyebrow. He was aware how oblivious Ash could be with emotions, some young women working in the castle would pause by the training area and watch. When ever they talked to Ash he was completely unaware of their flirting. At least it seemed he wasn’t TOTALLY oblivious when it came to people’s feelings towards him.

“Well, I guess over time you and the Prince really grew on each other. You spend a lot of time together.” Ash smiled at the thought of him and the Prince. “Oh yeah. I love helping Clemont train, and helping him with his inventions! Did you know he’s making things that can move on their own when powered by electric pokemon? It’s so cool! It exploded when Pikachu tried powering it, but it was still cool!”  
Laughing at Ash’s excitement, Alain held out a hand and pulled Ash back to his feet, watching Pikachu jump onto his partner’s shoulder. “I remember when Charizard use to sometimes sit uppon my shoulder when he was a young Charmander. That was long before I became a knight.” Ash smiled and gave Pikachu a scratch under his chin, getting a happy “Chaaa~” from the electric rodent.  
Curious, Ash looked at Alain. “By the way, why are you a knight?” With his Aura, Ash could sense that when he said that Alain’s emotions quickly changed. It felt sad, but the older knight managed to mask it pretty well with a small smile. “It’s a favor for a very close and very dear friend of mine. Lysandre was very generous to offer this job to me.”

Looking at the sky, Alain smirked a little when he noticed what time of day it was. “Shouldn’t you be with Clemont right about now?” Looking up as well, Ash yelped in alarm and rushed off, almost knocking Pikachu off his shoulder from how fast he moved. “BYE ALAIN!” Crossing his arms with a smile, Alain turned to his Charizard who was silently watching. “Ash will make quite an interesting knight in shining armor for the Prince.”

Charizard just snorted in reply, making Alain laugh.

__________________________

Ash’s first day of being Clemont’s personal knight was eventful. First, they went to a meeting with Clemont’s father so Clemont could learn and be prepared for when he became king. Second, then, they had lunch (it still surprises Ash that what they consider a small lunch would be enough to feed a small village.). Now, they just got done meeting visiting princesses who came to meet Clemont.  
Ash didn’t entirely mind standing there as Clemont talked with the women, but he started getting irritated when one after another kept talking all about themselves. None of them wanted to actually know Clemont himself. At the moment the knight and the Prince were walking down the halls towards Clemont’s lab so they could work the things from the Aura book and some inventions.  
Clemont hummed as he looked at a paper with the princess’s names on it. “They all seemed pretty nice. What did you think about them Ash?” Hesitating for a second, Ash thought it over.“Well, they seemed, okay.” The Prince looked at his friend in confusion. “Just okay?” Sighing, the knight rubbed the back of his neck. “Do you want the honest answer, or the nicer answer because I work for you?”

Reaching his Lab, Clemont opened the door as he and Ash walked in. “Honest. I’m not going to fire you for your opinions Ash.” Letting Pikachu jump down from his shoulder, Ash turned back to Clemont. “Well, one was wearing so much make-up you couldn’t really tell what she really looked like, and she kept giving me a dirty look when ever I said something to you. Another girl couldn’t stop talking about herself and how stinking rich her family is.”  
Clemont chuckled, remembering who exactly Ash was talking about. Ash said one more thing while removing his sword belt. “It also bugged me that they just wanted to keep trying to impress you then get to know you. They’re really missing out not learning about the real you.” Feeling his face heat up, Clemont looked at Ash in surprise. “Y-you really thing so?”  
His knight smiled brightly at him. “Of coarse! You’re an amazing prince who makes amazing things who will become an amazing king some day! People who don’t want to know about you are crazy.” After a long pause of silence, Clemont finally turned away as his face turned extremely red. “T-thank you!” Watching as the Prince rushed off in order to work on an invention, Ash chuckled to himself. Clemont sure got bashful when it came to complements. It was kinda cute.


	6. Chapter 6

Bored out of her mind, Bonnie starred out the window of the carriage she and her family were riding in. They just got done with a trip to a kingdom they were doing trades with, and were currently traveling home. Bonnie had a lot of fun at the other kingdom, but boy was she bored! She already brushed Dedenne, Luxray, and Pikachu. She even read her books she brought with. Twice!  
She looked over at her brother, who at one point fell asleep while reading one of his books. He was currently slumped over leaning against his knight Ash, who didn’t seem to mind that Clemont fell asleep on him. He just held as still as he could so her brother could rest as Pikachu took a nap in his lap as well. She looked over at her dad who was also reading his own book. “Daddy are we there yet?”  
Not taking his eyes off his book, Meyer just chuckled and rubbed his daughter’s head. “Just a bit longer Bonnie. We should be reaching the kingdom in a few minutes.” Sighing, the Princess looked out the window again. How could her father even tell? It was so foggy out she could barely see anything. She squinted her eyes trying to see better through the fog.

Something suddenly caught her eye, her eyes widened as she saw something glow and a large shadow in the distance. “What’s tha-” she was suddenly cut off when she heard Ash gasp and her brother yelp in surprise. She turned to look at the two boys in confusion, Ash had a hand on his forehead looking surprised and confused, while her brother was rubbing his tired eyes. Turning back to her window, Bonnie frowned.  
“Aaaw, it’s gone!” Clemont looked at his little sister confused. “What’s gone Bonnie?” Pointing out her window, the Princess did her best to explain. “It was some kind of pokemon! It was really big and it glowed! It’s kinda looked like, uh, like….” Unsure how to describe what she saw, her eyes wandered around the carriage until she saw an image in the book her father was reading. “Like that!”  
Raising an eyebrow at his daughter, Meyer looked back down at his book and noticed what she was pointing at. “You think you saw Xerneas?” Nodding excitedly, Bonnie took the book for Meyer and showed it to the boys. “This is what I saw! It was glowing too!” The boys turned to look at each other for a moment, before Clemont turned back to his sister. “Maybe it was just your imagination Bonnie. It is pretty foggy out.”

Giving the book back to her father, Bonnie looked at Ash. “Do you believe me Ash?” Her brother’s knight hesitated for a second, before rubbing the back of his neck nervously. “I’m not sure, maybe?” Pouting, the Princess angrily crossed her arms. “None of you believe me! You think I’m making it up!” Wrapping his arm around his daughter, Meyer tried his best to cheer up Bonnie along with Dedenne.  
Glancing at the window Bonnie was looking out of, Ash mentally questioned himself. Was that really powerful spike of Aura really Xerneas?

_____________________________

“I don’t know, maybe your sister did see Xerneas.” Clemont looked up from the invention he was working on to look at Ash. “You really think so? Wow, that’s incredible.” Nodding, Ash leaned against a wall. “Yeah, I feel a little bad though. Bonnie got upset because she thought none of us believed her.” Standing up, the Prince wiped sweat off his forehead and walked over to his friend.  
“Ash how would you explain why you believed her? My dad was in the carriage with us, you couldn’t tell them that you felt a legendary pokemon’s Aura without revealing yourself.” the knight sighed. “Yeah I know, but still…” Before either of them could continue their conversation, Pikachu gave a small yawn and rubbed at his eyes, triggering a yawn from his partner as well.  
Chuckling, Clemont patted Ash’s shoulder. “We should get some rest. It’s getting late.” Nodding in agreement, Ash, Clemont, and their pokemon left Clemont’s lab and started heading for their bedrooms. Halfway there, they heard someone yelp in alarm. Rushing towards the soarce, they reached Bonnie’s room and found Bonnie’s personal maid Mairin standing in the doorway.

Hearing the two approaching, Mairin turned to face them, looking panicked. “I-I swear I just went downstairs for a minute to get her something to drink! I don’t know where-” Before Mairin could finish, Clemont rushed past her and into Bonnie’s room, seeing that his sister, along with her Dedenne, were gone. Ash turned to Mairin. “Go tell the king, Clemont and I will start looking!”  
Nodding, Mairin rushed off to inform the king. Walking into the room, Ash put a calming hand on Clemont. “Clemont calm down, we’ll find her.” Clemont turned to his friend, a panicked look on his face and tears were starting to form in his eyes. “But what if those people who grabbed me have her?! She could be in danger Ash!” Thinking it over, Ash suddenly came up with something. “Give me a second!”  
Closing his eyes, the young knight used his Aura to look around the castle. Unable to see Bonnie’s Aura, he forced his Aura seeing abilities to stretch out further around the kingdom. He gasped when he finally spotted her. “She’s right at the border of the kingdom! She’s going back to where she saw Xerneas!”

____________________________

Holding the lantern she was carrying up so she could see, Bonnie patted the Skiddo she borrowed from the castle stables. “Easy now, we don’t want to startle any wild pokemon out here. We’re just here to find Xerneas again and then go home.” Skiddo nodded nervously. It could feel the growing fear inside Bonnie as she tightly gripped it’s horns. It was getting darker, and scarier outside.  
Hopping off of Skiddo, Bonnie looked around. “I think this is where I saw Xerneas. What do you think Dedenne?” Popping out of Bonnie’s bag, the little electric rodent looked around. “Dene…” Humming in worry, Bonnie carefully continued forward, one hand on Skiddo, another holding the lantern. Though not paying attention to where she was stepping, Bonnie didn’t notice when she stepped on a tail, not until she heard the pokemon cry out.  
Jumping back in alarm, Bonnie watched as a little Weedle grabbed it’s tail with tears in its eyes. “Ah! I’m so sorry!” Glaring at her, Weedle cried out very loudly. Hearing a noise from above, Bonnie looked up, and pales when she saw, what she assumed, was Weedle’s mama Beedrill. Screaming, Bonnie let dropped the lantern and hopped onto Skiddo as the pokemon took off.

Running as fast as it could in the dark, Skiddo’s hoof caught a tree rot and tripped, sending the Princess and Dedenne flying from its back. Out of panic the Skiddo kept running leaving the Princess behind as the Beedrill kept chasing it. Groaning, Bonnie got back up and looked around, unable to tell where the heck she was. “Uh-oh…” Unsure about what to do now, Bonnie carefully continued forward, even though she had no idea where she was going.  
“Maybe coming out here wasn’t a good idea after all. Now I’m lost, Clemont and Daddy are going to get worried.” Dedenne looked around as well, even he had no idea where they were going. “Denene.” Holding her purse close, Bonnie continued. A few minutes later of walking, Bonnie took another step forward, only for her foot not to make any contact with the ground. Shouting in alarm, Bonnie slid down a dirt slope and landed on something rather soft.  
Before she could even wonder what she landed on, a cloud of green sparkly dust was suddenly blown into her face. Coughing, Bonnie quickly jumped off and ran away from what she assumed was a pokemon. Slowly, her run turned into a sluggish walk, as she dragged her feet on the dirt ground. Even Dedenne was starting to doze off inside of her bag.

Yawning, the Princess rubbed her eyes and she struggled to stay awake. The last thing she remembers before falling asleep, is a falling sensation, landing on something very soft, falling again, and landing on the cool grassy ground.

_________________________

Holding on tightly to Ash’s shoulders, Clemont looked around for his sister as Ash steered the Gogoat to where he could sense Bonnie’s Aura with Luxray running by their side. Tugging on the Gogoat’s horns, Ash got the pokemon to stop and closed his eyes. “We’re getting closer to her.” Groaning, Ash rubbed his head. Clemont looked at his knight worried. “Are you okay?” Turning to look at the Prince, Ash smiled.  
“Yeah, Just pushing my Aura like that gives me a head ache. I’ll be fine once we find Bonnie and take her home.” Ash could feel as Clemont’s grip on his shoulder’s tighten. “Don’t push yourself to hard okay? I don’t want you accidentally hurting yourself.” Ash reached over and patted one of Clemont’s hands with his. “Don’t worry. I’ll be just fine. I want to find your sister just as much as you do. Playing tea parties with her kinda made her grow on me.”  
Ash smiled when he got Clemont to chuckle at the memory of them playing with Bonnie. “Pika-pi!” Pikachu’s cry catching his attention, Ash quickly turned back to face forward and quickly pulled on Gogoat’s horns, making it and Luxray move out of the way of a charging Skiddo passing them. Clemont watched as the Skiddo ran back in the direction of the castle. “That was one of our Skiddos! Bonnie must have taken it when she left!”

Having the Gogoat and Luxray move forward, Ash continued to follow Bonnie’s Aura. After a few minutes Ash had the Gogoat stop once they reached an end of a ravine. Clemont looked over the edge nervously. “Ash, you don’t think…” Shaking his head, Ash closed his eyes again and focused. His eyes suddenly shot open and he pointed. “She’s on the other side!”  
Ash looked at Pikachu. “Buddy, you think you can give us some light?” Nodding, Pikachu jumped off of Gogoat and started letting electricity spark from his body, lighting up the area. The Prince squinted, barely able to make out his sister’s still form on the other side. “She’s not moving! She might be hurt! How are we suppose to get over there?”  
Looking around, Luxray looked down the ravine and saw some lumpy shapes down there, letting out a “Luxlux!” to catch the boy’s attention, Ash looked down the Ravine himself. “Hey, Aren’t those pokemon down there?” Looking himself, Clemont squinted to try making out what pokemon they were. “I think those are Drifloon and Drifblim.” Gasping, Clemont looked back at Ash. “That’s it! If we startle them and get them to float up here I can jump across them like a bridge and go get Bonnie and bring her back!”

Nodding in understanding, Ash began to remove his sword belt. “I should probably go instead, I’ll be able to get across easier. Pikachu, do as Clemont says until I get back.” Ash handed his sword belt to Clemont and walked over to the edge, Clemont held tightly onto Ash sword. “Okay, just be careful.” Turning, Clemont pointed at the Drifloon and Drifblim. “Pikachu, Thunderbolt, Gogoat, Vinewhip, Luxray, Discharge!”  
Obeying their orders, the pokemon attacked a spot near the pokemon, startling them and making them float up. Once they were high enough, Ash leaped across each Drifloon and Drifblim that lead a path to the other side. Once he landed on solid ground the knight rushed over to the princess and checked her over. Not seeing any serious injuries, Ash quickly pulled Bonnie onto his back and jumped again.  
A sudden gush of wind blew, making Ash loose his balance for a moment before getting it back. Sighing in relief, Ash looked back up. That wind blew away any of the Drifloon and and Drifblim that was close enough to jump on. His grip on the Princess tightened, he’s just have to jump as far as he could. After hesitating for a moment, the knight jumped, only for his stomach to drop when he felt himself fall when he couldn’t reach the other side.

Before Ash even has the chance to scream, he felt a pair of hands grab his arm tightly. Looking up he saw Clemont tightly holding onto his as Pikachu, Luxray and Gogoat struggled to keep Clemont from sliding off the edge. “Hold on! I got you!” Clemont grunted as he struggled to pull Ash and his sister back up to safety. only for the ground under him starting to crumble under his and the pokemon’s weight.  
As the two and the pokemon yelped in alarm, Clemont felt a strong hand grab the back of his jacket and quickly pull him back up along with Ash and Bonnie. Panting from the rush of adrenaline, the two boys looked up at their savior who was none other then the king himself with Lysandre and Alain behind him. “Dad!” Before Meyer could even ask if they were okay, Bonnie yawned and tiredly opened her eyes.  
For a moment, she looked around confused before speaking. “What’s going on? Why is Ash giving me a piggyback ride?”

_____________________________

Once everyone was finally back at the castle safely, and Bonnie apologized for worrying everyone, Ash groaned and rubbed his head as he walked Clemont to his room. “Ah man my head is killing me now. At least Bonnie’s safe now.” Clemont nodded with a small smile. “I can’t thank you enough. It’s like you’re always saving my family and I Ash.” Ash smiled back at the Prince. “It’s no problem. I’m happy to help. It’s part of my job now too.”  
Chuckling, Clemont reached for his bedroom door and pulled it open. “I hope you feel better tomorrow Ash. Sleep well.” Bidding the Prince a good night, Ash turned back around and headed back to his own room, smiling to himself.


	7. Chapter 7

“But Dad!” Sighing, Meyer looked away from what he was doing and over to his son. “Clemont I know you don’t enjoy it when they visit, but it’s to renew the peace treaty. Just lock your room and lab when they come and join us okay?” Groaning, Clemont just nodded before walking off with Ash and their pokemon following him. Ash looked at Clemont confused. “What’s wrong with renewing a peace treaty with this royal family?”  
Rubbing his temple, Clemont turned to face his knight. “It’s not the whole family specifically, just the daughter Princess Allie.” Searching his memory for a moment, Ash couldn’t remember ever hearing of her before. “Well what’s wrong with her? Was she one of the Princesses you met to possibly marry?” Letting out a humorless laugh, Clemont petted Luxray as he told Ash the story.  
“Yes, and boy was that a nightmare. She automatically assumed we would get married just because I agreed to meet with her as a possible bride choice. She even tried saying that because we were getting married she would have Luxray, who was a Shinx at the time, as her own pokemon. She’s so spoiled her family lets her steal what ever she wants from anyone. Because she’s a princess people are to scared to argue with her when she takes their valuables.”

The knight cringed as Clemont told him his experience with Princess Allie. “Wow, that does sound like a nightmare. If it makes you feel any better I’ll be by your side the whole time so you won’t suffer alone.” Blushing, the Prince smiled a little at Ash’s reassurance. “It does a little actually. Lets suffer together.”

_____________________

Wandering around the Lumious Castle with her perfectly groomed Furfrou, Princess Allie sighed. She managed to sneak away from the boring treaty meeting her family was having with the King and Prince. She hoestly didn’t want to be in the presents of the awfully rude Prince who rejected her affections and took away the adorable little Shinx she gladly accepted as a gift!  
Though, now that the little adorable Shinx fully evolved into a rather intimidating Luxray, she didn’t really want him anymore. He was cuter when he was small enough for her to carry in her purse. “I hate being dragged here all the time Furfru. It’s so boring and dull at this castle, ours is MUCH better.” Her Furfru barked in agreement. Turning down the hall, Allie looked around and noticed one of the doors in the hall were opened.  
Curiosity getting the best of her, the Princess walked over and pushed the door opened a bit, noting that this was a bedroom much smaller then what any royalty would DARE consider spending a night in. “Ugh, this must be one of the castle workers rooms. Even my own personal maids have better and fancier bedrooms then this broom closet. How sad.”

Looking around the small room, she took note of a few things. Old raggy dirty clothes that looked like belonged to a traveler, the bed was a MESS, like the person didn’t even bother to make it at all, and a letter sitting on a desk near the bed. Leaning over, because she refused to touch such cheap scrap paper, Allie began to read over the poorly written in french letter. It was obvious who ever wrote it was trying to learn how to write in french.  
“‘Dear mom, how are you? I’m fine, so is Pikachu. My job as Prince Clemont’s royal knight is going smoothly-’ Oh this is that dirty knights room?” When they first got to Lumious Castle the Princess quickly took notice of the new knight standing closely by Clemont’s side. Why the Prince would let such a piece of trash dare be in his presents was beyond her.  
Hearing her dear Furfrou growl, Allie turned to see Furfru with it’s nose inside the Knight’s bed. “EW! Furfrou get your face out of there! Do you have any idea how-” Before she could finish, her Furfrou pulled out a rather odd looking book from the blankets of the bed. Raising an eyebrow, she took the book from her pokemon and looked through the pages.

Allie scowled, she couldn’t read any of this. This knight must be from outside the region if he had a book written in, what ever this was. Closing the book, the Princess looked over the cover. It did look very pretty on the outside, and the knight seemed to try hiding it, which must mean it has SOME kind of value. Smiling, Allie tucked the book under her arm. “What a generous gift.”

______________________

Sighing in relief, Ash closed his bedroom door behind him. Princess Allie and her family finally left a few hours ago, and he felt drained from dealing with them. True Allie’s parents weren’t as bad as their daughter, but they still weren’t very pleasant to be around. When ever they wanted something they tried ordering Ash to go get it like he’s the butler. Thankfully Clemont constantly reminded them that he was a knight.  
Clemont sure as heck wasn’t kidding about Allie either. When the first got there Allie just gave him dirty looks as if he was something she just stepped in. She did disappear for a while and came back in a bit of a better mood, though she still complained about wanting to go home. “Man, what a long day.” On his shoulder, Pikachu nodded tiredly in agreement. “Pikachu…”  
Sitting down on his bed, Ash began to remove his knight gear while Pikachu jumped off and moved to his comfy pillow he slept on. Once the gear was all off and thrown onto the ground, Ash flopped over on his bed, ready for some well deserved rest. Reaching down, Ash attempted to grab at the book he hid under his blanket so he could put it somewhere else without knocking it off his bed while he slept, only for his hand to only make contact with just his blanket and mattress.

Sitting up, the knight looked around the bed. “Pikachu do you know where my book is?” looking confused, Pikachu sat up and looked around his pillow, even jumping off and looking under his pillow. Looking back up at Ash Pikachu shook his head no. Now Ash was starting to seriously worry.

_________________________

“CLEMONT!” Snorting, Clemont lifted his head off his pillow in surprise when he heard hard knocking on his bedroom door. Putting his glasses back on, Clemont quickly got up from bed and rushed to his door with Luxray by his side. When he opened it he was surprised to see Ash and Pikachu looking so, panicked. “Ash? What’s wrong?” Slipping into the room, Ash closed the door behind him. “My book is gone!”  
The Prince’s eyes widened in shock. “What?!” Pacing around the room, Ash ran his fingers through his messy hair as he retraced his steps. “It was there this morning! I hid it in my room, but when I got back it was gone! I even checked the lab before coming here! Do you think one of the other knights or a worker took it?!” Rushing over to his friend’s side, Clemont grabbed his arm to get him to stop.

“Ash calm down. If one of the people working here found it we would have heard about it by now. Besides, I think I have a pretty good idea who took it. Remember when I said Allie takes what she wants, and how she disappears for a while today?” Ash’s eyes widened in realization. “Oh Arceus…” Walking over to his closet, Clemont opened it and stated looking for something to wear. “Get ready, we’re heading to Parfum Palace.”

______________________

After telling his father that Princess Allie took one of Ash’s belongings, Meyer gladly allowed them to borrow a carriage and head to Parfum Palace. While the two sat quietly during the ride there, Clemont looked over at his friend sitting across from him, who was holding Pikachu in his lap looking nervous. “Ash, I promise we’ll get it back from her. Everything will be okay.”  
Sighing, Ash leaned back in his seat. “It’s not just the book I’m worried about. What if she read it and told someone? They could be planning on doing Arceus knows what to me right now for being-” Getting up from his seat, the Prince moved to sit next to his knight and squeeze his hand in reassurance. “They’re not going to get anywhere near you if they find out. If they do know we’ll just grab the book, get out of there, and figure out what to do next later.”  
Staring for a moment in surprise, Ash gave a small smile. “Never in a million years did I think a prince would go through so much trouble just for me.” Smiling with a small blush, Clemont let go of his knight’s hand. “That’s what friends do. I’m sure Pikachu would do the same to help you too. Right Pikachu?” Pikachu nodded and nuzzled his face against Ash’s chest, making him laugh a little. “Pika-pika!”

Within a few hours, they finally arrived. When both boys stepped out off the carraige, they were greeted by a growling overly pampered Furfrou. Right before Pikachu and Luxray could even start growling back, a familiar voice spoke up. “Furfrou, is that any way to welcome someone?” Backing off, the pampered pokemon returned to Princess Allie’s side. Ash clenched his first when he noticed his book in the girl’s arms.  
Smiling, Pincess Allie bowed, as well as he maids behind her. “Prince Clemont of Lumious, what a surprise. May I help you?” Bowing out of politeness, Clemont looked at the book in her arms. “Princess Allie, I believe you have taken something that doesn’t belong to you at my castle.” The Princess smirked and held up the book. “You mean this lovely book? I found it while exploring around the castle and happily accepted it as a gift.”  
Her smirk turned into a small pout when she opened the book. “To bad I can’t read it, I haven’t been able to get someone to translate it either.” Sighing a bit in relief since no one has read it, Ash stepped forward. “Well it wasn’t a gift and I want my book back!” Giving Ash a quick dirty look, Princess Allie stuck her nose up at him. “I wasn’t talking to you, you filthy piece of trash.”

Taking a deep breath to keep his patience, Clemont spoke. “I would appreciate it if you don’t insult my knight. Would you please return his book Princess Allie?” Humming in thought, Princess Allie pulled out her fan and started fanning herself with it. “Maybe, if you’re willing to trade something for it.” Looking at Clemont, Ash’s expression basically said 'Is she serious?!’  
The Prince’s exasperated expression pretty much said 'Yes.’ before he turned back to the Princess. “What in the world would you want to trade for that book that you took?” Thinking, Princess Allie eyes pretty much examined the two along with everything they had with them. “Well, assuming marrying you is still out of the question….”  
Her eyes finally stopped on Pikachu. Stepping forward the Princess stood on her toes to get a better look at the electric rodent. “Is this Pikachu yours Knight?” Leaning away from her a bit, Ash looked at Pikachu. “Yeah, Pikachu’s been my partner for years.” Tucking her fan away, Princess Allie reached up with both hands and cupped Pikachu’s face, making Pikachu blush in surprise.

“Each Pikachu is different from other Pikachus. This one’s cheeks are perfectly round and the right shade of red…” Smiling, Princess Allie, shoved the book into Ash’s arms, pulled Pikachu off of Ash’s shoulder and took him into her arms. “Alright, you can have the book back in exchange for Pikachu! Have a nice trip home!” Ash, Clemont, Pikachu, and Luxray looked at Allie completely shocked.   
“WHAT?! YOU CAN’T DO THAT!” Stepping forward, intending to take Pikachu back, Ash’s path was blocked by the Princess’s many maids. Princess Allie turned back around and smirked, ignoring how Pikachu started to squirm in her arms. “Pikachu will be much better off with me, he doesn’t need a dirty piece of worthless trash that was picked up off the street by royalty. He needs ACTUAL royalty.”  
Before Ash even had the chance to argue with her, Clemont and Luxray walked past the maids. Approaching the Princess, Clemont wordlessly took Pikachu out of her arms, turned around, walked over to Ash and handed Pikachu back to him. Princess Allie and her maids looked absolutely shocked into silence by the Prince’s actions. Even Ash and Pikachu looked surprised at him. “Clemont…”

Cheeks turning red, Princess Allie glared at the Prince. “How DARE you!” Turning back around to face her, the Princess felt chills run down her spine when she saw the cold glare Clemont was giving her. “No, how DARE you! How dare you take my knight’s belonging, how dare you try taking his beloved Pikachu away from him, and how DARE you insult my knight right to our faces!”  
Stepping forward, Clemont’s glare seemed to go deeper into her soul as his Luxray growled at her, even making her Furfrou coward a little. “So help me Princess Allie, if you EVER do something like this again to my knight or anyone who works for my family, I will make your rule as queen some day very VERY difficult. Do I make myself perfectly clear?”  
Princess Allie timidly nodded. “Yes sir.” Without another word to her, Clemont turned back around and started walking back to the carriage. “Lets go Ash.” Looking in total shock, Ash let Pikachu jump onto his shoulder and tucked the book under his arm while following Clemont back into the carriage. After a few minutes of riding in silence, Clemont let out a heavy sigh in relief and put his hand over his chest. “I can’t believed that worked…”

Smiling, Ash rubbed his, weirdly warm, face. “That was pretty amazing Clemont, I can’t believe you lectured her like that.” The Prince chuckled nervously, petting Luxray as the pokemon dropped his head on Clemont’s lap. “Me either. I could have started a war saying that stuff to her.” Looking down at his book in his lap, Ash nervously started tracing the details on it. “Thanks for sticking up for me like that.”  
Clemont blushed deeply and smiled a little. “You’re welcome Ash.”


	8. Chapter 8

“A little more on the left! No that’s to far now! Okay that’s good. Raise it up. A little more. A little-” Huffing in frustration Ash looked down at the maid. “SERENA!” Laughing, Serena re-adjusted her grip on the ladder Ash was standing on. “I’m messing with out. That’s perfect!” Relieved, the knight hung up the decoration and started climbing down the ladder. “Why do dance rooms have to have such high ceilings? People aren’t that tall.”  
In response Serena just shrugged, looking at the ceiling wondering why herself. “Maybe the guests have really tall pokemon. I heard there are Exeggutors with really long necks in a far away land, they’d probably be to tall for any other room here.” Now back on the ground, Ash looked up as well. “Good point. So, are you going to be working during the ball too?”  
Nodding, Serena started gathering up more decorations they had to put up. “I’m helping in the kitchen, making deserts for the guests. I’m going to make my world famous pokepuffs!” She giggled as Ash licked his lips, she could just tell he was thinking about her cooking. “So, going to be Clemont’s, Knight in Shinning Armor, during the ball? I heard a lot of Princesses are coming.”

Chuckling, Ash took some of the decorations from Serena and looked for a place to put them. “Yeah, that’ll be crazy. I swear if one of them talks about how rich their family is, I’m going to stick my head in the punch bowl and scream.” Laughing, the two of them continued their work for a few minutes in silence until Ash spoke up again. “Do you think, Clemont might find a bride during the ball?”  
Pausing, Serena looked over at Ash. “Um, I’m not sure, maybe. His father probably wants him to find someone soon. The ball might be a really great opportunity for him to find someone. Why do you ask?” The Knight just gave a shrug. “Just wondering…” Staring at Ash for a few moments as he continued working, Serena smiled a little and continued working as well.

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Placing a head piece on Pikachu, Clemont backed away with papers in his hand, ready to write down any progress. “Okay Pikachu, give it some power.” Nodding, Pikachu took a deep breath. “Piiikaaaa-CHUUUUUUUUUUU!” Watching, Clemont’s eyes widened in alarm when his invention started moving around violently. “TO MUCH! TO-” BOOM! Coughing, Clemont waved the papers in his hand around to clear up the dust.  
Looking guilty for blowing up Clemont’s invention, Pikachu bowed his head in apology. “Pika…” Chuckling, the Prince walked over to the little pokemon and removed the head piece. “Don’t worry about it. You’re a lot stronger then Luxray with your electricity. Just, don’t tell him I said that when he gets done being groomed for the ball, okay?”  
Looking at his destroyed work, Clemont sighed and grabbed a broom. He could have a maid or butler do this, but he’d feel bad for making them clean up every explosion he caused. So, he did the cleaning himself. Thankfully Pikachu lent a hand- er, paw, and started picking up the scrap pieces scattered everywhere. “So, looking forward to the ball Pikachu?”

Turning to face the Prince, Pikachu gave an excited “Pikachu!” making Clemont smile. “Good! I feel bad though that Ash has to work instead of have fun. This is his first royal ball and he won’t get the chance to enjoy it. Probably be to busy protecting me from all those Princesses.” Pausing his cleaning, Clemont frowned. “Though I have to pick one eventually…Ugh, why couldn’t Ash be a Prince?”  
Pikachu looked up at Clemont surprised. He wishes Ash was a Prince? Dumping the scraps in a pile, Pikachu grabbed the dust pan and held it for Clemont as he swept up. “Ash is so kind and sweet. He somehow managed to steal my heart. If he was a Prince, maybe I could have convinced my dad to let me marry him instead. Though, that’s if Ash felt the same.”  
Taking the dust pan from Pikachu, Clemont dumped the dust into the garbage. “I just feel bad if I marry a women I won’t truly love. People deserve someone who will love and cherish them. Though, most of the women I meet don’t really know me, and yet they’re so willing to jump at the chance to be my bride.” Groaning, The Prince removed his glasses and rubbed his face.

“Being a Prince is the worst sometimes.” Looking over at Pikachu, Clemont smiled a little and petted the little electric type. “Sorry for ranting to you like that. You probably don’t want to hear about my dumb crush on your partner. You can go back to Ash now if you like, I have to clean up myself.” Looking at Clemont for a moment longer, Pikachu gave a small “Pika” as a bye and left the lab.  
Clemont had a crush on Ash? Well, now knowing this information he couldn’t just leave this situation alone now can he?

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Well, on the night of the ball both boys were right, Ash had to protect Clemont from some rather excited and pushy Princesses, and some of them talked about how rich they were. Though not to embarrass Clemont, Ash refrained from sticking his head in a punch bowl. Setting down another freshly baked batch of pokepuffs with her three partners, Serena sighed and wiped her forehead. She looked down at her pokemon who looked as tired as her. “We sure got our work cut out for us tonight.”  
Looking around, she spotted the two guys she was looking for. Ash was standing a little off in the distance with Pikachu on his shoulder while Clemont danced with one of the Princess guests. Neither of them looked like they were having any fun though. “Poor guys…Well, I might get in trouble for this later, but I can’t bare to watch this anymore.” Her Panchum, Brixan, and Sylveon all nodded in agreement.  
Walking over, Serena approached Ash. She cupped her hand around her mouth and his ear and whispered to him. Eyes widdening, Ash pulled away and looked at her. “You sure?” Smiling, the maid nodded. “You two should hurry along now, don’t worry about a thing.” The knight smiled himself and walked over to Clemont and his dance patner. “Sorry to interupt, but something just came up and I need to take the Prince somewhere.”

Both the Prince and Princess looked at Ash surprised. Clemont pulled himself away from the Princess and bowed politely. “I’m terribly sorry, but I should go.” The Princess Clemont was just dancing with bowed as well. “It’s alright. Thank you for the dance.” One the Princess walked off, the two boys started leaving with their pokemon. Once they were outside Clemont looked at Ash confused.  
“So what’s going on?” Turning around, Ash smirked. “Nothing, Serena said she’d cover for us while we actually go and have real fun.” Sighing, Clemont shook his head. “Oh Serena. So where are we going now?” Humming in thought, Ash scratched the back of his head. “Think anyone will be in the garden?”

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Clemont laughed as he weaved some flowers he picked together. “Wait wait, those guys really did that?” Ash chuckled himself as he played with a small Aura energy ball in his hand. “I’m serious! Team Rocket made Misty so mad afterwards, she sent them blasting off with just a swing of her fist! Brock and I had to keep our distance from her unless we wanted the same fate before she could cool down.”  
Watching his partner and the Prince laugh together, Pikachu leaned against Luxray who was relaxing with him. They really did seem happy together, Ash never looked so comfortable around other people while using his Aura before, and Clemont really loved Ash’s company. Pikachu’s ear suddenly twitched when he heard something, Luxray seemed to hear it too but looked relaxed as he lifted his head and looked in the direction the noise was coming from.  
Off in the distance some of the pokemon in the garden seemed to be having their own ball, singing and making music. With an idea popping up in his mind, Pikachu whispered to Luxray. Once he was done the big electric pokemon smiled at him and nodded. Not noticing their pokemon walking off, Clemont finished what he was doing and held up the flower crown he was working on. “Done!”

Looking at Clemont’s worked, Ash noticed he used a lot of the blue flowers he particularly liked in the garden. “Nice job Clemont, it looks good!” Blushing a little, the Prince inspected his own handy work. “I make these with Bonnie all the time. Our mom taught me how to make them, so I made them for Bonnie, and she always got a kick out of it. Bonnie’s probably busy inside playing with other children here, so would you like it?”  
Chuckling, Ash got up from his spot on the grass, removed his hat and kneeled, making Clemont laugh. Clearing his throat, Clemont got on his feet and held up the flower crown. “You are now, Prince Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town!” Both of them laughed as Clemont placed the flowers on Ash’s head. Standing back up, Ash placed his other hat down on the ground. “You know, Prince Ash has a nice ring to it.”  
Clemont could feel the blush on his face spreed. Ash looked really good in the moon light. “Yeah, it really does.” The two paused when they heard something. Turning their heads, they saw the pokemon in the garden gathering near by. Some were making music by singing and using grass whistles, while other pokemon danced. Including Pikachu and Luxray. The knight smiled. “Wow, looks like they’re throwing their own ball.”

Looking back at Ash, Clemont had no idea where this came from when he said it. “W-want to dance?” His friend smiled awkwardly. “I’m not a great dancer. At least that’s what I’ve been told by like, everyone. Despite traveling everywhere and learning a lot of stuff, dancing wasn’t one of them.” Clemont’s mouth must have had a mind of it’s own. “I could teach you!”  
Turning back to Clemont, Ash smiled excitedly. “Really? Thanks!” Swallowing nervously, Clemont lifted his hands and placed them on Ash’s shoulders. He kept himself from shivering when Ash put his hands onto his shoulders. “J-just follow my lead.” Looking down, Ash followed Clemont’s steps, trying his best not to crush the Prince’s toes with his feet.  
Getting excited, Pikachu looked over at Luxray and nodded. Smirking to himself, Luxray walked behind his partner, started to purr and brushed up against his back, pushing against Clemont with a little extra force. Making the Prince yelp a little in alarm as he stumbled forward into Ash’s chest. Acting quickly, Ash wrapped his arms around Clemont as he caught their balance, keeping them from falling over.

Once Clemont looked up, and their eyes met, it felt like everything around them froze. Chocolate brown eyes stared back at sapphire blue eyes. Ash was the first to break the silence. “You know, I never said how great you look tonight. You really do look like Prince Charming.” Right now, Clemont was positive he was redder then a Flareon’s fur. “Thank you. You look lovely as well.”  
The two Of them stayed in a long moment silence, both slowly dancing as Ash still had his arms wrapped tightly around Clemont. Neither of them would look away. Clemont felt lost in the chocolate brown eyes of his knight that were, getting closer? Gasping, the Prince leaned back in panic. “WAITWAITWAIT!” Alarmed, Ash let go of Clemont and let him step away. “S-sorry! I don’t know what came over me I-”  
Running his fingers through his hair, he’d have to apologize to Serena later for messing up his hair after she worked so hard on it, Clemont sighed. “No Ash, you did nothing wrong. It’s just, I really wanted this but I can’t have this because everyone wants their Prince to find a Princess and live happily ever after. They don’t want the Prince to fall in love with his knight…”

Everything in the garden went quiet. The pokemon stopped, Pikachu and Luxray watched their partners, while the two boys stood there. Stepping forward, Ash took Clemont’s hands into his. “But what do you want? Forget about everyone for a moment and think about yourself. What do you really want?” Looking at Ash, Clemont could feel his heart pounding in his chest as he stared into those caring eyes.  
“….I really want you. I want you so much.” He didn’t lean back this time, he let Ash’s lips make contact with his. Neither of them heard when the pokemon around them cheered, or that Pikachu and Luxray cheered the loudest, they were to lost in the moment as Ash wrapped his arms around Clemont’s waist and as Clemont put his arms around Ash’s shoulders.  
Once they finally pulled away for air, the two of them rested their foreheads against the other’s. Clemont smiled. “Thanks Ash, you’re amazing.” Chuckling, Ash lifted his head and looked at their little, audience. “You’re amazing too, though, maybe we might want to do this somewhere more, privet.” The Prince looked around at the pokemon too, blushing a bit from realizing that they were watching the whole time. “True. Oh well, I’ve never been a big party person anyways.”


	9. Chapter 9

Well, yesterday night was busy for her, but at least Serena managed to cover for the boys. They never did come back to the party though, making the maid wonder what the two were doing that night. Figuring she’d ask Clemont when she woke him up, Serena made her daily trip to the Prince’s room with her pokemon. After knocking on the door, and getting a tired groan in response, she let herself in the room.  
Walking over to the bed, Serena put the tray of food down and grabbed the blankets. “Rise and shine sleepy-” She froze when she pulled the blankets halfway off the bed. Clemont was still in his clothes from the night before, but when she saw bare chested Ash holding the Prince in his sleep wearing a flower crown, she screamed in alarm and embarrassment. Brixan and Panchum looked just as shocked as her, and Sylveon was covering her eyes with her feelers.  
Being startled awake, Clemont’s eyes shot open and looked around. When he heard the tired groans next to him he looked over and saw Ash, memories of last night rushing back. He quickly sat up. “SERENA I CAN EXPLAIN!” With her back to the boys, Serena’s face turned deep red as she covered her eyes. “Please tell me he’s wearing pants!”

Sitting up himself, Ash rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. “Relax, I just took my shirt off. Do you have any idea how warm these big fancy beds get?” Sighing in relief, Serena turned back around and crossed her arms. “When I told you to have some fun last night I didn’t think you’d go this far!” Laughing, Ash wrapped his arms around Clemont’s shoulder. “Oh we had tons of fun making out, right Clemont?”  
To embarrassed to reply, the Prince just sat there with his face in his hands, it didn’t help when Ash chuckled and gave him a kiss on the forehead. Suddenly Alain and his Charizard rushed into the room. “SERENA I heard you- What in the world?!” Ash smiled and waved. “Hey Alain!”

____________________________________

Once things finally calmed down, Serena and Alain finally left, promising not to say anything without them giving permission. Clemont groaned and flopped face first into his pillow. “How embarrassing…” Shrugging, Ash swiped a piece of Clemont’s breakfast and took a bite. “Hey, could have been worse. You could have been shirtless too, then Serena really would have freaked out.”  
Lifting his head up to glare at Ash, he turned over onto his back and stared at the ceiling. “Well, now what are we going to do?” Thinking it over, Ash laid down next to Clemont. “Well, that depends on you. Do you want to tell your dad, or keep this a secret?” Clemont stayed quiet for a while, thinking over the pros and cons of their options.  
“Well, on one hand, if we keep it quiet we’d have to keep on living our lives as if it never happened and probably be pretty unhappy. On the other hand, if we tell a lot of people will most likely not be happy. We might not be allowed to be together either way.” Grabbing the Prince’s hand, Ash gave it a squeeze. Who cares what other people think. People think Aura users are evil, does that mean I’m evil?“

Clemont shook his head. "No. I don’t think you could be evil even if you tried.” Ash chuckled. “So then if people thing our relationship is wrong, does that make it wrong?” Thinking over what Ash just said, Clemont looked over at him. Even without his glasses on, he could still see those wonderful eyes and his bright smile that made his heart pound every time.  
Sitting up, Clemont got off his bed and went over to his closet. “Go to your room and get dressed, we’re going to talk to my dad.” Getting off of the bed as well, Ash walked over and gave Clemont a kiss on the cheek before heading for the door. Pikachu, who was outside the room with Luxray, jumped onto his partner’s shoulder. “See you later Prince Charming!”  
_________________________________________  
Sitting in the castle dining room, Meyer was enjoying his breakfast while looking over some important papers with Lysandre by his side. “How are the knights and guards doing Lysandre?” Clearing his throat, Lysandre spoke. “They’re doing well sir. Especially your son’s personal knight. He and Alain have been doing an amazing job. Oh, speak of the devil.”  
Looking up, Meyer saw Clemont and Ash walk into the dining room. The king smiled at his son. “Good morning Clemont, good morning Ash. How are you two today?” Smiling nervously back at his dad, Clemont rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “We’re fine. Um, can we talk to you alone Dad?” Slightly confused by his son, Meyer turned to Lysandre, who nodded and left the room.  
Tugging at his shirt collar, Clemont struggled a little trying to open his mouth to speak. Noticing Clemont’s discomfort, Ash reached over and gave Clemont’s hand a squeeze. When he looked over at his knight, Ash smiled at him, so did Pikachu. Smiling back, Clemont took a deep breath. “Dad, I-I want to be with Ash instead of marrying a Princess!”

It was like the whole room froze completely, No one made a single noise. After a few moments of this, Meyer stood up from his seat. “Why is that son?” Swallowing nervously, Clemont gave Ash’s hand a nervous squeeze before speaking. “I don’t think it would be fair to the Princess that I marry to live with me as my wife if I don’t really care for her that way, because I’ve fallen for Ash instead!”  
The Prince looked over at his knight. “Ash is sweet, kind, loyal, he loves my inventions despite that many of them blow up, and I love hearing his stories of his travels around the world! I’ve never felt this way for any Princess and no Princess has ever shown me such kindness and caring like Ash. I’m sorry if I disappointed you but I just can’t lie to you about this and make both our lives miserable by hiding the truth!”  
Done explaining himself, Clemont watched his father nervously. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking with his blank expression. Suddenly, to the boys surprise and confusion, the king started laughing? Looking at each other with alarmed and a bit concerned, Clemont looked back at Meyer. “Dad?” Taking a calming breath, Meyer wiped away a tear in the corner of his eye. “Sorry sorry, you just, reminded me of myself when I fell for your mother.”

Walking over to the boys, the king explained. “See, when we met she wasn’t one of the Princesses that I was suppose to meet to marry, we bumped into each other at a ball and spent the night talking and dancing together. After that day I insisted to your grandparents that she was the one meant for me, and I was the one meant for her. You and Bonnie may have her looks but it looks like you got bits of me inside you too.”  
Once he was in front of the boys he took Clemont’s shoulders into his strong hands. “Clemont, I want you to be happy. Sure a Princess would be ideal, no offence Ash, but if you want to marry your knight in shining armor then so be it. Though are you ready to face our kingdom and our comrades with the fact that you’re not marrying royalty son? Not all of them will react as well as me.”  
With relieved tears, Clemont nodded and hugged his dad. “I am, thank you Dad.” Chuckling, Meyer patted Clemont on the back before looking over at Ash. “You also need some more training Ash. Now that you’ll be with Clemont you have to learn how to be royalty and to run a kingdom. Think you can handle that?” Giving a determined smile, Ash nodded. “Yes sir!”

Laughing, Meyer yanked Ash, and Pikachu, into the hug. “You can call me Meyer now! I am going to be your in-law after all!” Unknown to then, through the cracked door of the dining room Lysandre listened in on the conversation. Perhaps this could work in his favor…

_____________________________________________________

“See, now that wasn’t so bad was it?” Clemont smiled as he and Ash walked through the halls. “Yeah, so I guess we’re getting married now huh?” Wrapping his arm around Clemont, Ash pulled him close to his side. “Guess so. Wow, imagine when I tell my mom I’m going to marry a Prince and become a co-king! Her eyes might pop out of her head reading my letter to her!”  
Laughing, Clemont rested his head on Ash’s shoulder that wasn’t taken by Pikachu. “Yeah, she’ll be pretty surprised. It might be a while though, you have to learn how to be a Prince yourself and how to run a kingdom with me. I should warn you, it’s not the most FUN training in the world.” Ash just shrugged his shoulders. “Well not everything in the world is fun.”  
Once they made it to Clemont’s lab, the Prince asked. “Are you sure you want to stay here permanently? You were always on the move because you didn’t want people finding out who you were.” Looking around the lab, Ash picked up a small piece of wire and started twisting it around. “Positive. This is the longest I’ve stayed anywhere and no one has found out. I think Pikachu and I are pretty safe here. Now.”

Pulling away from Clemont, The Prince looked at Ash confused until he realized what he was doing and started laughing. Ash, with Pikachu by his side, was on one knee holding up the wire he twisted into a ring. “Lets make it official, want to get married and live happily ever after Clem?” Getting down on his knees as well, Clemont let Ash slip on the wire ring before hugging his tightly and pecking his lips. “Absolutely.”


	10. Chapter 10

Saying the people of Lumious were surprised when it was announced that Clemont chose someone to wed, was an understatement. Sure some of them were happy about it, though there were a few who had their issues considering Ash wasn’t royal, or a Princess. Ash personally promised the people of Lumiose that he would do his best as their co-King and help take care of the citizens.  
Anyone else who tried objecting that Ash and Clemont’s love was wrong, the Knight simply replied by swooping Clemont into a kiss, in front of everyone. It was Ash’s way to say “Deal with it.” and to mess with his Prince Boyfriend at the same time. Clemont had a pouting red face for the rest of the day. Telling the People was the easy part, now Ash was going through training to learn how to run a kingdom and be royalty.  
It was so boring even Pikachu fell asleep. Though with Clemont’s occasional pokes, Ash managed to pay attention and take in important information. Holding half awake/half asleep Pikachu in one arm, Ash yawned and stretched out his other arm. “Do you have to sit through that all the time?” Walking next to him, Clemont nodded. “I’ve had those lessons since I was young. Part of being next for the thrown.”

Groaning, Ash wrapped his arm around Clemont. “People who say they want to live like royalty sure don’t know what it’s really like. It’s boring and exhausting.” Clemont chuckled and kissed Ash’s cheek. “Well, they’re probably curious about what living like this is like. I’ve been curious about living your kind of life. Out in the open, not always having a guard follow you when you go outside, so on.”  
Ash thought about that for a moment. Clemont never did get the chance to enjoy his time outside the castle after he saved him. He could barely see anything the whole time and he was a bit shooken up from being kidnapped. If Ash got the chance to expeiance this kind of life style, then Clemont should get to experiance the way he use to live too.  
Smiling, Ash gave Clemont a tight one armed hug and kiss on the temple before letting go and rushing off. “I’LL SEE YOU LATER CLEM!” Blinking in confusion, Clemont looked at his Luxray, who looked just as confused as him.

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Rushing into the Knight and Guard training area, Ash paused as he saw Alain talking to some new guy with a Metagross. Noticing Ash, Alain smiled and waved at him to come closer. Once Ash walked over Alain gestured over to the new guy. “Ash, this is Steven. He’s from Hoenn, as an offering of peace and loyalty from his kingdom he’s offering his serves here in Lumiose for an amount of time.”  
Steven and his Metagross bowed politely. “It’s an honor to meet the future co-King.” Bowing as well, Ash replied. “It’s nice to meet you Steven, but I’m not a king yet, so you can just call me Ash okay? Hey Alain, can I ask you a favor?” Raising an eyebrow in confusion, Alain leaned down so Ash could whisper what he was planning. Once hearing the whole plan the knight straightened up. “Absolutely not.”

Putting on the sweetest face he could pull, and Pikachu making a cute face too, Ash asked again. “Pleeeeaaase Alain? we won’t even leave your sight! I’ll get everything ready myself all you have to do is watch to make sure everything goes okay!” Alain crossed his arms and gave Ash a stern look. “No Ash, it’s to risky for my liking, I won’t do it. End of discussion.”  
Seeing how the look on their faced wouldn’t work, both Ash and Pikachu pouted. “Aw come on, I want to do something really nice for Clemont! Just this one time!” Watching this, Steven chuckled. “You seem determind to do what ever it is for your Prince. Is it really that important to you?” Nodding, Ash smiled excitedly. “Clemont does a lot for me, I want to do this for him!”  
Smiling at Ash’s determination, Steven turned to Alain. “Come on Alain, what harm could it do? If it’ll help I’ll gladly tag along.” Feeling slightly ganged up on by the other knights, Alain turned to his Charizard, who just shrugged. Sighing, Alain rubbed his face. “Fine. You own me one.”

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Removing his glassed, Clemont tiredly rubbed his eyes as he finished up on some papers he had to work on. Part of some Prince duties his father wanted him to do so he’d be ready for the future. Putting his glasses back on, Clemont looked out the window seeing the sun starting to set. Lost in the view, he was caught totally off guard when something was thrown over him.  
Hearing Ash laugh from his startled yelp, Clemont quickly pulled off the, cloak apparently, and looked over at Ash. “What was that for?” Smiling brightly, Ash held up the basket in his hand. “Get dressed in something that doesn’t really stick out, I’m taking you out for a picnic outside the castle.” Looking at his boyfriend surprised, he just watched as Ash strolled over to his closet.  
“A picnic OUTSIDE the castle?” Looking though Clemont’s clothing selection, Ash sneaked a look over his shoulder at the Prince. “Yup! Just you, me, and our pokemon!…Also Alain and the new guy Steven, but they’re be standing far away!” Picking out the least fanciest outfit Clemont has, Ash walked out of the closet and handed the clothes to Clemont. “I’ll be waiting outside the room, and don’t worry Serena said she’d cover for us!”

Before Clemont could get a chance to say anything else Ash rushed out of his room to give him some privacy. The Prince just sighed and shook his head. “Oh Ash.”

_____________________________________________________

“Ash I get why you wanted me to change my clothes, but why did you want me to take off my glasses before we got here?” Turning to look at his boyfriend to make sure he wasn’t peaking his eyes open, Ash smirked as he kept leading him. “It’s a surprise. Don’t worry you can put them back on once we get there.” If his eyes were open Clemont would have rolled them. For someone oblivious to flirts he sure was cheesy when it came to dates.  
They finally came to a stop. Ash grabbed both of Clemont’s shoulders and adjusted him for a moment before letting go. “Alright, you can look now.” Putting his glasses back on and opening his eyes, Clemont gasped at the view. The sun has gone down and the stars were shinning brightly over Lumiose in the distance, a breath taking scene. “Oh wow Ash…”  
Smiling brightly, Ash grabbed Clemont’s arm and tugged him down with him onto the ground where he set up the picnic blanket. Once they were sitting down Ash reached into the basket and pulled out some food. “I asked the cooks to make some things from my home lands. Try some.” Taking the dish from Ash, Clemont looked at the food before taking a taste, his eyes widening at the new flavor. “Mm, it’s good!”

Laughing, Ash talked about how his mom would make all kinds of awesome food, and when he was traveling his friend Brock did most of the cooking since he couldn’t even boil an egg without ruining it somehow. They both talked about all kinds of things together as they ate, and once they were done with the food they both laid back and watched the stars. They even started playing connect the dots with the stars.  
Pointing, Ash directed Clemont’s eyes to where he was looking. “See, those stars over there look just like your glasses!” The Prince laughed. “Yeah, I can see that. Hmmm, Oh! There are a few stars over there that look like the marks on your cheeks!….How did you get those anyways?” Rubbing his cheeks, Ash just shrugged. “I think they’re birthmarks. They’ve been there for as long as I can remember.”  
Rolling over onto his stomach, Clemont cupped Ash’s face and ran his thumbs over Ash’s marks. “Well I think they’re beautiful.” Smiling, Ash wrapped his arms around clemont as he leaned down to kiss him. Good thing Pikachu and Luxray were sleeping, but they almost forgot about the two other knights until “DON’T FORGET WE’RE STILL WATCHING YOU TWO! SAVE THAT FOR LATER!”

Clemont quickly pulled away in embarrassment and hid his VERY red face in Ash’s chest as Ash glared up at the direction where the two knights were. He could hear Steven laughing off in the distance. “MOMENT RUINER!”


	11. Chapter 11

Hearing a knock on his room door, Alain got up from his bed and opened it. Straightening up his position when he sees it’s Lysandre. “Sir.” Lysander smiled. “Alain, I have a job for you. Lumiose has been getting many shipments of traded supplies from all over the place, I need you to pick up some of the more important traded goods tomorrow, It will take you a few days though.”  
Alain nodded. “Not a problem sir, Charizard and I will be on it right away."   
Handing over a list of the supplies to Alain, Lysandre look turned to something more serious. "Afterwards, I need you to go to the base before going back to Lumiose, have the knights accompanying you take the supplies back after you split ways.” When Alain replied with another “Yes sir.” Lysander was about to leave when.  
“How- how is the treatment going?” Turning back to face one of his best knights, the captain of the guards saw the concerned look on his face. “The treatment is going fine. Keep up the good work and we’ll do our best.” Their conversation now at an end, Lysandre left. Walking into his personal office, he petted his Pyroar who was sleeping on his pillow in the corner before sitting down at his desk to do some work. 

A little while later, he heard a knock at his door. Giving permission to enter, Lysandre watched as four women walked in. All of them wearing the Lumiose knight uniform and helmets that covered their eyes. “Ladies, I assume you’re ready for tomorrow?” One of them with blue hair stepped forward. “Yes sir, everyone is in their positions. We’ll be ready when you give the orders.”  
Standing up, Lysandre walked around his desk. “Good. I want everything to go smoothly." 

____________________________________________________

Smiling at his handy work, Clemont held up a ring to the light so he could see his work better. The rings for him and Ash were just finished, and before giving Ash his ring Clemont wanted to surprise him with a personal touch. Jumping a little at the sound of his lab door creaking open, Clemont quickly took the ring and hid it inside a drawer before turning to who entered. "Hi Ash! How’s training going?"   
Sighing slightly in annoyance, Ash walked over to where Clemont was sitting and rested his chin on Clemont’s lemon blond hair. "Without Alain here to train me the other guards are to scared to train with me, thinking if they hurt me you’d have them sent to a dungeon. They should worry more about me hurting them.” Chuckling, Clemont reached up and ruffed Ash’s hair.  
“Dating royalty has it’s ups and downs I suppose.” Smirking, Ash moved so he could give Clemont a surprise kiss on the lips, getting his Prince to blush. “It’s ups are much better then it’s downs. Though would you send someone to the dungeon if they gave me a booboo?” Rolling his eyes at his knight, Clemont leaned back in his seat and thought about it.

“Well depends. If it’s an accident from training or something like that then no, but in all seriousness if they did intend to harm you to get to me I’d have no mercy.” Ash looked at Clemont surprised.“Wow, you’d really do that? Aw Clem, that’s really sweet of you. Good luck beating Pikachu to it though, last time I was in serious danger Pikachu totally destroyed the guy. Right buddy?”  
On Ash’s shoulder, Pikachu nodded proudly. “Pikachu!” Smiling, Clemont reached up and petted Pikachu, getting a happy “Chaa~!” out of the electric rodent. “You and Pikachu are an amazing team. I’ve never seen such a strong bond between a man and his pokemon before I met you.” As if to prove his point, after Clemont was done petting him, Pikachu started nuzzling Ash’s cheek.  
Laughing, Ash scratched Pikachu behind the ears. “Well we have been together for a really long time and we’ve been through a lot together. Pikachu’s my best friend ever.” After Ash was done scratching Pikachu he turned back to Clemont. “So, what invention are we working on today?”

___________________________________________________

“Uh, is this safe?” Double checking his invention, Clemont walked over to Ash and placed the head piece on his head. “I assure you I’ve taken every safety percation that the head piece won’t do any damage to the user. I’ve tested different pokemon power for energy, though I have been curious about what kind of energy Aura can give off. This is just a test so if you’re not comfortable we don’t have to do this.”  
Adjusting Clemont’s invention on his head, Ash gave a smile to his boyfriend. “If you say it’s okay to do, then I’ll give it a shot.” Happy that Ash was willing to do this, Clemont gave him a quick kiss on the forehead and took a few steps back (ignoring the fact that Pikachu and Luxray ducked for cover). “Okay, when ever you’re ready Ash.”  
Taking a deep breath, Ash started to focus his Aura energy into the invention. Not even a second later, BOOM! Right before the invention exploded Ash managed to wrap himself around Clemont and put up his Aura shield before the explosion went off. Looking around his lab, most of the lighter objects were thrown around the room, some things were smashed. Thankfully their pokemon took cover under his desk and were okay as they peaked out.

“Well, those test results are, interesting.” Ash chuckled awkwardly while taking off the head piece and handed it back to Clemont. “Sorry about that.” Hearing a knock at the door, Ash quickly let the shield down before it opened and Bonnie walked into the lab, looking around. “What happened in here?” Both the boys replied with a quick “Nothing.” Making Bonnie look at them confused. “Okay? Anyways, Lysandre said Dad wants to talk to us." 

_____________________________________________________

After cleaning up the lab a little bit, The three and their pokemon walked through the halls to meet with Meyer. Bonnie skipped happily as she went on about her ideas for the boys future wedding. "And the cake could be HUGE! Would you guys like a pokemon theme cake, or an invention themed cake? Oh, or maybe both! That would be so pretty with little frosting pokemon and frosting gears on it!"   
Hearing his own stomach growl, Ash patted it as he mentally pictured the giant cake. "Aw Bonnie you’re making me hungry talking like that.” Laughing a little at his boyfriend, Clemont rubbed his sister’s head. “Don’t get to excited though, the wedding won’t happen for a while now. Just be patient okay Bonnie?” Giggling, Bonnie replied with a “Kay!” as they approached Meyer’s throne room.  
Hearing the doors to the throne room being opened, Meyer looked up to see the kids. Before he could ask what they’re doing in here, he heard the knight that was with him draw his sword. The next thing he knows an arm is wrapped tightly around him and a sword is to his throat. “Wha-?! WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!” The three kids gasped in alarm. Hearing the door behind them get slammed shut Ash turned around and saw two other knights lock it shut.

Drawing out his own sword, and Pikachu jumping off his shoulder with sparking cheeks, Ash stood in front of Clemont and Bonnie protectively. “Who are you?! Why are you doing this?!” Chuckling, one of the knights who locked the door pulled out his own sword. “See, we didn’t get the chance to introduce ourselves the first time. We’re Team Flare. We were trying to keep this clean last time but you forced our hands."   
Pulling his sister close to him as Luxray stood in front of them growling at the enemy, Clemont realized what the man meant. "They’re the ones who kidnapped me!” Chuckling, the woman of the group stepped forward and pointed “Houndooms, get them!” Coming out of hiding, the Houndooms came out of hiding and charged at them. Ash acted quickly. “Pikachu hold them off!”  
Nodding, Pikachu charged at the pokemon with a Quick attack to keep them away from the Prince and Princess. Charging, the female knight swung her sword at Ash, who blocked his attack with his own sword. She smirked wickedly. “Come on, the three of us know you can do better then this, or are you to shy showing off in front of the King and Princess?”

Gritting his teeth, Ash charged at her, who blocked his attack. “SHUT UP!” Clemont watched Ash for a moment in worry before turning back to the other knight who was ordering the pokemon who were battling Pikachu. They must have trained the Houndours they had until they evolved. “Luxray help Pikachu!” nodding, Luxray charged at the other pokemon in order to help out. “DADDY!”  
Turning around after hearing his sister’s cry, Clemont watched as their father struggled against the Team Flare member holding him hostage. Elbowing the man in the stomach, Meyer managed to get away and grab a candle pew and block a swing of the man’s sword. “DON’T WORRY I’M FINE! WORRY ABOUT YOURSELVES!” Before the two siblings could even reply, Dedenne in Bonnie’s purse suddenly jumped out.   
The knight ordering the pokemon attempted to sneak up on them until Dedenne jumped out, grabbed him by the face, and started using Nuzzle. The man cried out as he got electrocuted before he managed to pull off the electric type and throw him. “NASTY LITTLE RODENT!” Bonnie watched in horror as Dedenne landed hard against the floor, she pulled away from her brother. “DEDENNE!”

“BONNIE NO!” Rushing over to his sister, Clemont wrapped himself around her to shield her as the Team Flare member raised his sword. Bracing himself of the pain that would come, he was caught by surprise when he heard the man cry out and then a loud crash. Looking up, the Team Flare member was blasted across the room and into the wall. Hearing the other Team Flare members and their pokemon cry out and slam into something, Clemont turned his head and paled.  
Ash had just used his Aura, right in front of his dad. The people attempting to kill them laid on the ground unconscious, while Ash stood there panting, and glowing. Bonnie stared in total shock. “Ash, is a-” “AURA USER!” Everyone in the room turned, just noticing the doors were busted open during all of the chaos. Lysnadre, the knights and the royal guards stood there with their pokemon and weapons drawn. 

Lysandre pointed at Ash, who everyone had just seen use Aura. “GET HIM!”


	12. Chapter 12

Snapping out of his shock. Clemont looked over at Ash who was still frozen. “ASH RUN!” Looking at Clemont for a quick moment before realizing what was happening, Ash was about to run for it before two large claws wrapped around him and lifted him off the ground, making the knight drop his sword. Pikachu watched as a large Drapion grabbed Ash. “PIKAPI!”  
Using Quick Attack, Pikachu bolted for the large purple pokemon. One of the women knights with green hair called out. “Liepard stop it by using Slash!” Jumping in front of Pikachu, the Liepard Slashed the little electric type hard in the face and making him slam into the ground, blacking out. Ash gasped. “PIKACHU! LEAVE HIM ALONE!” Seeing Ash’s hands starting to glow, the woman knight with purple hand ordered her Drapion. “Confuse Ray!”  
Obeying, Drapion fired a Confuse Ray attack right at Ash, hitting him right in the face and knocking him out instantly. Clemont watched in horror as his boyfriend went limp in the pokemon’s claws. “NO! ASH!” Letting go of his little sister, Clemont rushed for Ash only to be stopped when Lysandre wrapped his arms around him. “LET ME GO! YOU CAN’T DO THIS TO HIM! ASH!”

Wanting to help his partner, Luxray started to growl at the Captain of the royal guards until his Pyroar stepped in front of Luxray and growled back. Lysandre looked over at his knights and guards. “Arrest the Aura user for taking control of the Prince’s mind and using him to get control of the kingdom!” Following orders, Ash and Pikachu were taken out of the throne room by the four women knights.  
Clemont watch as his boyfriend slowly disappeared from his sight, making him struggle even harder. “NO PLEASE! He didn’t do anything to me! LET HIM GO!” Getting tired of Clemont squirming in his arms, Lysandre handed him over to two guards. “Take him to his room and have the royal doctors check on him. We may not know if the mind control on him has any perminent effects.”  
As Clemont was being dragged back to his room with his Luxray following close behind, Lysandre turned back around to face the King, who looked alarmed and extremely worried by what just happened along with his daughter who was cradling her Dedenne. “Allow me to explain sir.”

_____________________________________________________________

Hours passed. The royal doctors couldn’t find anything wrong with Clemont, so he was left alone locked in his room with Luxray. Not even Serena was allowed to enter. The whole kingdom probably knew Ash was an Aura user now and it was all his fault. Just because Ash wanted to protect him he slipped up and now everyone thinks he’s evil. Now Ash is sitting in the dungeon, probably cold and scared out of his mind.  
After attempting to get out of his room, with no success, Clemont hugged his knees as he sat on his bed, Luxray curled up around him for comfort. Hearing his door creak open, Clemont lifted his head and saw his father walk in with a concerned look. “Are you okay Clemont?” The Prince just nodded. “Where’s Ash?” Sighing, Meyer sat down next to his son on his bed.  
“In the dungeon. He won’t be able to hurt you any-” Clemont suddenly got to his feet and glared at his dad. “ASH DIDN’T DO ANYTHING TO ME! What ever Lysandre thought, he was wrong! You saw him protecting me Dad! He even protected you and Bonnie! Would some evil Aura user revile himself to protect someone he doesn’t truly care about?!”

The King looked at his son surprised. This is the first time Clemont ever snapped at him. “Have you known Ash was an Aura User this whole time?” Clemont sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. “Yes, he used his Aura to save me from the people who kidnapped me. Ever since then I’ve helped him train with his Aura, and I promised him something like this wouldn’t happen to him!”  
Sitting back down, Clemont put his face in his hands, feeling tears forming in his eyes. “I promised. He was scared of this happening to him someday Dad. That’s why he was traveling before he settled here. He felt safe here! He trusted us! He trusted me! Now Ash must hate me for letting this happen to him!” He felt as his Father strong hands gripped his shoulders, making Clemont turn and look up at him.  
“If what you say is true, then I highly doubt Ash will hate you for this. Clemont why didn’t you tell me this from the start?” Sniffling, Clemont rubbed his eyes. “I promised Ash I wouldn’t tell anyone. I didn’t want to break his trust in me… Do you believe me Dad?” Staring deep into his son’s eyes, seeing the honest look in them, Meyer nodded. “I’ve grown to know Ash, and that boy couldn’t be evil even if he tried.”

Standing up, the King smiled down at his son. “Lets go get your boyfriend so we can sort all of this out.”

_______________________________________________________________

Following the King and Prince, Lysandre tried reasoning with them before they got to the dungeon. “Sir please, for all we know the Aura user could be controlling your son at this very moment!” Meyer turned to look at the Captain or the royal guards. “Lysandre I trust my son, I’d know if he’s being controlled or not. We’re going to let Ash out and hear what he has to say about this.”  
Not bothering to wait for his dad, Clemont kept rushing. He’d not going to let Ash stay there for a second longer! Rounding a corner, Clemont gasped. “Dad!” Hearing his son call for him, Meyer hurried to Clemont with Lysandre right behind him. “Son what’s wr-what in the world?” Right in front of them, the large metal doors to the dungeon laid flat on the ground.  
Pulling out his sword, Lysandre moved in front of the King and Prince and lead them into the room. After a few moments of walking they heard a groan and found a guard on the ground. Rushing over, Lysandre got on his knees and helped the man sit up. “What happened?” Rubbing his head, the guard looked up at the three. “It was the Aura user! When he woke up he went nuts and busted out of here with his Pikachu!”

Before the adults could react, Clemont took off deeper into the dungeon. Ignoring his father’s calls, Clemont kept going with Luxray by his side. moving around the groaning guards and pokemon. He finally stopped when he found a cell, with the bars blasted into pieces. Clemont’s heart felt as heavy as a rock as he dropped to his knees and Luxray nuzzled against him to help him feel better. 

Ash left, and he’s never coming back.

________________________________________________________________

Pikachu groaned, feeling someone carrying him uncomfortably by the scruff of his neck. Opening his eyes, he found himself staring at a stone ground. Where was he? What was going on? Where was-? Eyes snapping wide open, the memories of earlier can rushing back. Growling, Pikachu’s cheeks sparked before he let out a Thunderbolt with a “PikaaaCHUUUU!”. Making who ever was holding him scream and let him go.  
Back on his feet, Pikachu made a run for it. “PIKAPI?! PIKAPI?!” Turning down the hall, the elctric type skidded to a stop when he saw Team Flare members and pokemon. Growling, Pikachu used Quick Attack and charged past each of them, not allowing himself to stop even when he got hit by a pokemon’s attack. Once past them he continued to run, attacking anyone that got in his way and calling out for his partner.  
Pikachu kept going until he spotted a door with daylight leaking through. Using iron tail, he swung as the door, making is fly open. Once outside Pikachu stopped to catch his breath and looked back. He just came out of a stone building well hidden by bushes and trees in the area. Hearing more pokemon and people from inside getting closer, Pikachu knew he wouldn’t be able to save Ash alone. 

Mentally promising his friend he’d be back, Pikachu turned around and started running. Following his nose to Lumiose and Clemont.

________________________________________________________________

Feeling the tight grip of sleep loosening up, Ash shook his head to wake himself up and tried rubbing his face. Key word, tried. Now wide awake, Ash’s head shot up and looked around. It was pitch black in the room he was in so he had to use his Aura to give him some light. With the dull glow, he could see he was shackled in the air. His hands forced above his head and his feet stuck together, keeping him in a Y position.  
Grunting, Ash pulled against the tight cold metal. All that it resulted in was his wrists and ankles getting bruised. The knight could feel his heart pounding in his chest. Where was he? Where’s Pikachu and Clemont? what were they going to do to him? Was Clemont okay? The last thing he remembers is Clemont calling out to him before he blacked out. If he was in the castle dungeon then wouldn’t have Clemont fought to get him out?  
Lost in his train of thought, Ash didn’t notice the Aura energy approaching the room he was in until the door swung open, reviling a rather large man with an, interesting, hair cut wearing all red, and little red glasses. He looked surprised seeing Ash awake and glaring at him. “Oh, you woke up faster then expected.” Ash was practically glaring daggers at him.

“Who are you?! Where am I?! What happened to Pikachu and Clemont?!” Smiling,the man wrote something down on the paper he had with him. “You’re somewhere, where you can’t hurt anyone in the kingdom. Aura users are quite unpredictable after all, can’t risk you going berserk. I, am Xerosic, one of the Team Flare scientists assigned to study you.”  
Ash’s eyes widened in shock. “Team Flare?! How do you guys have me?!” Xerosic circled around Ash, as if he was studying him. “We have friends in high places. How do you think we managed to get our hands on the Prince?” Ash tensed when the scientist held up a finger, attempting to touch him. “BACK OFF!” Forming a shield, Ash pushed the man away from him, making him stumble and fall onto his butt.

Surprisingly, and creepily, Xerosic actually laughed. “Oh my! That’s an interesting feature! You Aura Users are so interesting!” Growling, Ash let his shield down as watched the scientist stand back up and dust himself off. "Where’s Clemont?! If you hurt him in any way I’m gonna-“ A new, familiar voice cut him off. "The Prince is fine Ash. After meeting you, some plans changed.”  
Frozen in absolute shock, Ash watched as Lysandre walked into the room with his Pyroar. The Captain of the royal guards stopped when he was at least a foot away from Ash. “We had no intention of harming him in the first place, that attack was just to push you to your limit. If putting the Prince in a dangerous situation is what did it, then so be it. We got what we needed anyways.”  
A strong feeling of betrayal filled Ash, he clenched his fists that started to glow with powerful Aura. “It was you all along, you let Clemont get captured! You wanting me to become a Knight, that was to study me wasn’t it?! You no good son or a-!” He was cut off when Lysandre’s Pyroar got in his face and growled at him, Ash cringed from the intense heat coming from the fire pokemon.

Ordering Pyroar to stand down, Lysandre explained calmly. “Yes, though it was a bit of a surprise when you and the Prince got engaged. Made it easy to frame you for brain washing him though. Gave us enough time to get you out of the castle before he could come for you. You should have seen the look on his face. Poor Clemont thinks you’re never coming back to him, but you will.”  
The Knight just looked at Lysandre confused, waiting for an explanation. He was even more confused as he watched a Alakazam come into the room behind the two men along with what he assumed was the Alakazam’s partner. Lysandre moved out of the way so Ash could get a good look at them. “See, Aura users are very powerful people. I’ve heard stories of Aura users so powerful they destroy kingdoms in fits of rage.”  
Ash gave him a dirty look. “What, you want me to destroy Lumiouse? I’m not that strong and you’re an idiot if you think I’d do that!” Lysandre just sighed and ran his fingers through his beard. “I don’t expect you to willingly do it, and I don’t want you to destroy the kingdom. I want you to help me make a better world.” The look on Ash’s face didn’t change.

“If you want a better world then how is kidnapping a Prince the way to do it?!” The captain of the royal guards started looking annoyed. “Stop interrupting and I’ll explain. See, my plan is to make the kings, queens, and any ruler or any land willingly give up their position. It’s the most honorable way of taking over and becoming the king of the world. Under my command, there will be peace throughout the whole world!"   
Now Ash understood. "So you kidnapped Clemont in order to make Meyer give up his title as king for his son’s safety. Is that what you planned to do with every royal family out there? Kidnap their children?” Lysandre shook his head. “No, I was planning on negotiating with other kingdoms. Finding you made my negotiating so much easier.”  
Turning to the Team Flare member, Lysandre gave a nod. Rolling up his sleeve, the Team Flare member revealed a key stone attacked to his wrist, and Ash noticed a Mega Stone around Alakazam’s neck. “Alakazam, Mega Evolve!” A bright flash of light filled the room, making Ash squeeze his eyes shut and look away. Once the light was gone, Ash opened his eyes and gasped at the sight of Mega Alakazam.

Knowing they were attempting to do something to him, Ash put up his Aura Shield again, and he was determined to keep it up as long as he needed. Lysandre raised an eyebrow and looked at Xerosic. “Ah yes, I probably should have warned you about that. It’s like the pokemon move Protect, nothing can touch him as long as it’s up.” The Captain or the royal guards just sighed and glared at Ash.  
“You’re making this much harder then it needs to be. We’ll be back soon.” Turning around, Lysandre and the other men were about to leave. “Wait, where’s Pikachu? What did you do to him?” Glancing over at Ash for a moment, Lysandre looked at Xerosic. “What did you do with the Pikachu? I never gave much specific orders other then to catch it.”  
The scientist sighed and rubbed his head. “The one in charge of dealing with it went a bit overboard and fed it to the Pyroars we have. Little over dramatic if you ask me.” Ash felt his world completely stop. They, killed Pikachu? “No. No, you didn’t. You’re LYING!” Xerosic just glanced at Ash, rolling his eyes under those red glasses. “Believe what you will, we have no reason to lie about that.”

Shaking his head angrily, Ash started pulling on the chains again even harder, feeling the shackles dig into his skin. “I DON’T BELIEVE YOU! I WANT MY PIKACHU BACK NOW! PIKACHU!” He forced himself to use his Aura to look around the whole area. He could see every Team Flare member and Pokemon inside and outside the building, desperately searching for his little buddy’s Aura. “PIKACHU WHERE ARE YOU?!”  
The three men watched as this occurred, Xerosic writing down how Ash’s body started to glow intensely as he forced himself to use more Aura. Feeling his head pound hard, Ash gasped as had to stop or else he’d seriously hurt himself, just barely keeping his shield from going down. The knight panted as he stared at the ground in shock. He couldn’t find Pikachu’s Aura. He was gone.  
For a moment, Lysandre simply watched as Ash’s shoulders started to shake and his head ducked down, blocking his face from them. The Captain of the royal guards then turned back to the door. “Lets go.”


	13. Chapter 13

“Serena!” Turning around, the maid forced a polite smile when she saw Steven walk over to her. “Hi Steven. How did your trip go?” Seeing the serious look on Steven’s face, Serena let the smile drop. “How did you find out?” The knight sighed. “I heard people talking about it on my way back here. Ash is an Aura user? I can’t believe he would do something like-”  
Handing the tray of food to her Brixan, Serena glared at Steven. “Ash would never take advantage of Clemont like that! Those are all lies! Aura user or not he was my friend and Clemont’s boyfriend! He cared so much about Clemont he let people know he’s an Aura user to protect him! Don’t you dare think otherwise!” Putting his hands up, Steven backed away from the very angry girl.  
“I’m sorry, it’s just that I’ve heard many rumors about how Aura users hurt people and do horrible things. Though, hearing Ash is one of them, I’m struggling to wrap my head around it the thought of him doing something like that.” Letting his hands drop back down to his sides, he looked at Serena concerned. “How’s Clemont?” Taking the tray back, Serena started walking. “Heart broken." 

Reaching Clemont’s lab, Serena knocked on the door. Even though she didn’t hear any reply she let herself in anyways. She spotted Clemont sitting at his desk with Luxray by his side looking at his friend concerned. Putting the tray down next to the Prince, Serena saw that he was holding the rings that were made for him and Ash. He must not have had the chance to give Ash his ring to him.   
Kneeling a little bit, the maid rubbed her friend’s back. "I’m sure Ash will come back Clemont. We just have to keep hoping.” Not getting a reply, Serena just sighed and stood back up. “Call if you need anything. I’ll be right over before you know it.” petting Luxray, Serena took the old tray of untouched food from earlier and left the lab with her pokemon. Leaving the Prince alone with his thoughts.  
Glancing over at the tray, Clemont looked at the food sitting on the plates. The cooks and Serena work really hard to make him his meals, and he feels bad for not eating them, but he just wasn’t hungry. As if reading his mind, Luxray moved around the desk. Putting his paw on the desktop, he shoved the tray towards his friend and stared deeply into Clemont’s eyes. 

After a few moments of a deep staring contest, Clemont sighed when he finally gave in and pulled the tray towards him. He could hear Luxray purring as he took a few bites out of his meal and sip his drink. After a few minutes, Clemont decided it was enough. Standing up, he picked up the tray and walked to his door. Once he took the tray back to the kitchen he and Luxray headed for his room.  
If he was going to do nothing then he might as well do it in his room, not in his lab and ignore his inventions. Once he reached his room, he paused when he noticed his window, it was broken. Did someone throw a rock at his room or something? Looking around on the floor, all he saw was shattered glass. Luxray sniffed around the air as he walked around the room, he stopped in front of Clemont’s bed. “Lu?! LUXRAY LUX!”  
Rushing over to his pokemon, Clemont was about to ask what was wrong, when he spotted what Luxray was staring at. “Oh my Arceus! Pikachu!” Curled up on his bed, Pikachu had a pained look on his face as he layed there on the bed. His yellow fur covered in dirty and wounds. Gently taking Pikachu into his arms, Clemont cradled Ash’s best friend in his arms and looked at Luxray. “Luxray go get my medical kit from the closet!”

Nodding, Luxray rushed off to his friend’s closet while Clemont walked over to the water jug he kept in his room. Poring some water into a bowl, he took the rag he uses to clean off his face and dunked it into the water, before lightly dabbing Pikachu with it to clean him off. Saying sorry each time Pikachu cringed in his sleep from the cool water touching his wounds.   
Once Luxray brought over his medical supplies, the Prince started cleaning out and dressing Pikachu’s injuries. Once he was done he stood there with Pikachu in his arms, his mind racing. If Pikachu was here, in this shape, then what happened to Ash? 

_____________________________________________________

Touching down on the ground, Charizard leaned down and let Alain off his back now that they arrived at Lysandre’s other base. Alain smiled and rubbed Charizards head before aproaching the doors. After the guards standing there opened the doors, he walked in and towards Lysandre’s office. He never was a big fan of this place. It was to dark and depressing. Felt more like a dungeon then a privet training base.  
As he and Charizard walked, Alain paused for a moment and held up his hand signalling his pokemon to stop as well. Listening, he could have sworn he heard something, sounded like someone grunting of crying out. Alain’s head snapped toward a hall when he heard it again. Signalling Charizard to follow him, Alain walked towards the sound of the noise, he rushed himself when he heard it again.  
He never really explored this base before, just the medical rooms and Lysandre’s office. So Alain had no idea where he was going as he followed the sounds. He stopped when he heard the cry again coming from a door on one side of the hall. He could hear other voices too. “Again, Dark Pulse!” walking up to the door, the knight saw it was cracked open and peaked inside. Gasping at the sight.

Ash was chained up in mid air, with some sort of, glowing ord around him? Pokemon like Houndour, Skorupi, and Poochyena were attempting to attack him, but their moves couldn’t get close as the glowing orb around Ash glowed brightly. Though Ash visibly cringed and grunted loudly as the attacks slammed into the orb. Throwing the door open, Alain went straight to Ash. “STOP! What are you doing to him?!”  
He tried reaching for the shackles around his friend’s wrist, but the orb blocked him from reaching Ash. Panting hard, Ash lifted his head and looked at him. “A-Alain? What are you-?” Alain cut him off as he pulled at the chains that weren’t blocked by the strange orb. “Don’t worry Ash, I’ll get you out of here!” Stepping back, he was about to order charizard to destroy the chains until a voice stopped him.   
“Alain no. Don’t let the Aura user go.” Turning around, Alain looked at Lysandre shocked. “Aura user, what are you talking about?” walking up to them, Lysandre tapped the orb while Ash gave him the dirtiest look he could make. “This here, is Ash’s doing. He’s an Aura user. Our key to a perfect world.” looking between Lysandre and Ash, Alain felt lost. “I don’t understand…”

Ash glared harshly at Lysandre. “He wants to take over the world by using me to scare everyone into giving up their title and becoming king of the world.” Before Alain could question Ash about what he was talking about, Lysandre spoke first. “It’s the only way for world peace. You’re delaying the inevitable doing this.” The Aura shield around Ash glowed brighter, as if showing the anger in Ash.   
“The day I help you is the day Tepigs learn how to fly! I’ll never help you, especially after what you did you MONSTERS!” Shaking his head in disappointment, Lysandre ordered the other person to keep attacking. Alain watched as the pokemon in the room tried attacking Ash, who cringed when the attacks hit his shield. It looked like he was struggling to keep that big orb shield up.  
Wrapping an arm around Alain’s shoulders, Lysandre lead him out of the room and closed the door behind them. Alain looked at the Captain of the royal guards. “What did he mean when he said after what you did? What happened? Does Clemont even know about this?” Stopping, Lysandre turned Alain to face him. “No, the Prince doesn’t know and he won’t know about this. For all he knows, Ash ran away after we arrested him for being an Aura User.”

Looking over at his Charizard, who looked just as worried and concerned as him, Alain looked back at Lysandre. “Sir, this doesn’t feel right. I know your goal is for peace but THIS? This isn’t the way. Forcing everyone to step down so you can rule the world? This is insane!” Alain tried not to react when Lysandre’s grip on his shoulder tightened painfully.  
“Tell me, do you have any better ideas? With so many powerful figures with their armies and weapons fighting each other, there is only pain and sadness as people and pokemon die for selfish wants! With only one ruler, there will be no need for any of this suffering.” Loosening his grip, Lysandre stared deeply into Alain’s eyes. “Lets not forget why you’re here in the first place Alain.”  
Clenching his fists, Alain glared at Lysandre now that everything was starting to sink in. Lysandre really is insane, he uses people just to get his ideal world. He was nothing but a tool to him and now his friend is suffering because he helped. “You still didn’t answer my first question, sir.” Letting go of Alain’s shoulder, Lysandre sighed. “He’s very upset because his Pikachu is dead. I didn’t wish for that but I can’t change what has happened.”

Staring at Lysandre in shock by what he said, Alain watched as Lysandre started to walk away. “I want you on guard duty. Keep up the good work and we’ll take good care of Chespy." 

____________________________________________________________

Scrunching up his face, Pikachu blinked a few times before his eyes could focus. He was being cradled in someone’s arms while wrapped up in a nice warm blanket. Before he could wonder who was holding him, Clemont’s face came into view. A relieved smile appeared on the Prince’s face. "Oh thank Arceus, I was starting to seriously worry about you Pikachu.”  
Sitting up in Clemont’s arms, Pikachu wrapped his little arms around Clemont, nuzzling his face in his chest as Clemont hugged him back as well. After a moment Pikachu pulled himself away and started waving his sour arms. “Pika! Pika pi, Pikachu!” Watching the electric type freak out for a moment, Clemont put a calm hand on top of Pikachu’s head. “Calm down Pikachu. I had a feeling something was wrong when I found you.”  
Putting Pikachu down on his bed, Clemont gave him a serious look. “I’m going to ask you yes or no questions. Now, did you and Ash run away from Lumiose after getting arrested?” Pikachu shook his head. “Were you kidnapped?” Pikachu nodded frantically. “Is Ash okay?” With a sad look, Pikachu just shrugged. Worry sunk deeper into Clemont’s stomach. “Do then still have him?”

Pikachu gave a sad nod, tears stinging the corner of his eyes. Clemont cupped the electric pokemon’s face. “It’s okay Pikachu, you were beat up pretty badly when I found you, I’m just glad you’re here to tell me this. We’ll get him back. Do you know the way there?” Pikachu nodded. Knowing what he must do, Clemont got up from his bed and went to his closet.   
“I don’t trust the knights and guards anymore, and even if I did they’d hesitate if I ask for help.” Taking off his glasses, Clemont replaced them with special goggles that would stay on his head if in a combat situation, then pulled out his less flashy outfit, something he could wear without people realizing who he was, and grabbed some light armor.  
“I’m going to get my Ash back."


	14. Chapter 14

Finally, the pokemon that were trying to break through his Aura shield got tired, so it would take a few minutes for them to get some other pokemon to take their place. Ash gladly accepted this small break in order to get a little strength back, though he still refused to put his shield down. He didn’t want anyone coming near him, and he wasn’t sure if he could make his Aura shield come back if he did.  
Shifting a little, Ash cringed as he felt his arms ache. His wrists and shoulders were aching and it was starting to get very bothersome. It didn’t help with the extra weight of the chains around his bruised ankles pulling him down. Is this seriously how it’s going to end? He honestly hoped he could have avoided this, unlike other unlucky Aura users who were killed or worked to death.  
His mom might never know what happened to him, she’ll be left wondering where he is and if he’s alive. Clemont, what he wouldn’t give to see him one more time. Though no way was he going to let Lysandre use him to make Clemont’s family give up the thrown. No way was he going to let Clemont see him like that. He’d probably blame himself if he did because of his promise. Though how could either of them prepare for this? 

Ash’s heart jumped when he sensed someone’s Aura coming, but he relaxed a little when he recognized who it was, doesn’t mean he was happy about it though. He glared as he watched the door slowly swing open and Alain walk in, with a cup on water in his hands. Ash swallowed, he wanted something to drink but, he’d have to put his shield down. Alain was also one of THEM.  
Standing in tense silence, Alain held up the cup to Ash. “You should stay hydrated…” The other knight just kept glaring at him, refusing to say anything. “Ash please, if you keep going like this you’ll end up dying.” That finally got Alain a response as Ash scoffed. “If you haven’t noticed, my situation doesn’t have an opening for a way to live.”  
Ash tried clenching his fists, which was a bit tricky considering his hands were asleep from the lack of good blood flow. “At least if I drop dead before Lysandre can control me he won’t use me to hurt anyone, and I’ll be back with Pikachu!” That was probably the only bright side to this whole thing. He’d be back with his buddy again if he can just fight long enough.

Lowering the cup in his hands, Alain glared back at Ash. “What about Clemont?! Don’t you still care about him too?!” Seeing the Aura shield staring to glow brighter, Alain stepped back as Ash snapped at him. “LIKE YOU’RE THE ONE TO TALK YOU TRAITOR! You’re working for Lysandre! For all I know you’ve been training me just so he could learn more about me! Thanks to you I’ll never see Clemont again, and thanks to you PIKACHU’S GONE!”  
Shocked into silence, the knight didn’t respond as he watched Ash trying to wipe tears away against his shoulders. “If you two are done, how about we get back to work?” Turning, Alain saw a Team Flare member with more pokemon with him. The man crossed his arms. “Be happy I won’t tell Lysandre about you trying to help the Aura user again, I just want to get to work and finish this.”  
walking past Alain, the man ordered to pokemon to use Dark Pulse. He watched as Ash cringed as the attacks hit against his shield. Suddenly, the shield flickered and Ash cried out in pain when the Dark Pulse attacks hit him at different angles on his body. He panted hard, feeling the throbbing from his new injuries. The words ‘Oh crap’ ran through Ash’s mind. The Team Flare member smiled. 

“It’s about time! Keep attacking while I tell Lysandre he’s close to cracking. Alain, you should get back to guard duty before he gets here.” Watching the other man leave, Alain looked back at Ash, watching him struggle to keep protecting himself as the pokemon kept attacking. Unable to watch this anymore, he walked out of the room. He punched the stone wall of the hallway as he left. 

_____________________________________________________

Now that it was dark out, after leaving a note for his father if he wasn’t back soon, Clemont saddled up a Gogoat with Luxray and Pikachu by his side. He packed a saddle bag with medical supplies just in case, he doesn’t want to think about what kind of shape Ash would be in. Hopping onto the Gogoat’s back, he was about to order it to go, until. “PRINCE CLEMONT!”  
Clemont shuddered and turned, seeing Serena march over to him. “I can’t believe you’re planning to go on a suicide mission to save Ash! I also can’t believe you didn’t tell me!” Clemont looked at her surprised, he was about to ask how she knew but she beat him to it. “Also hide your notes better! I go to check on you to make sure you were asleep, and I find a letter sticking out from your pillow!"   
Sighing, the Prince looked at his dear friend. "Serena I couldn’t ask you to do this. Ash could be in danger and you might be risking your life doing this. I have to do this because I promised.” His maid crossed her arms stubbornly. “To bad, I’m coming anyways. Ash is my friend, Aura user or not. You are too, so if both of you are in danger I’m going to help you two out!" 

Giving in, Clemont groaned in defeat. "Fine, but I was lucky enough to swipe a single Gogoat, You, Ash and I won’t be able to fit on one Gogoat.” Thinking how to get another pokemon to ride on, Clemont was caught off guard when he felt someone tap his shoulder. “Perhaps I can help?” While Clemont looked over his shoulder, Serena looked surprised. “Steven? You want to help?”  
The knight nodded. “I thought about what you said Serena. You’re right, Ash is my friend as well, if he’s in trouble I want to help. I’ll get a carriage and then we can leave.” The Prince watched as the Knight rushed off, not sure if he could trust him, but if Serena was okay with Steven coming along, then he guessed he shouldn’t complain.  
Feeling Pikachu jump onto his shoulder, Clemont scratched his head behind his ear. Clemont thought determinedly to himself. 'I’m coming Ash.’

_______________________________________________________

Lysandre patiently watched as the pokemon attacked, the Team Flare member with his Mega Alakazam standing nearby ready to act when ordered. Ash really wished he could wipe that stupid calm look off that jerks face as he forced himself to keep the Aura shield up. His head was killing him, throbbing every time an attack hit the shield. Every time he lost his focused-  
The knight cried out again when his Aura shield flickered and an attack hit him again. His clothes were getting shredded from this, the spots where his skin was exposed were deeply bruised and throbbing along with his aching head. He was probably bleeding too but he couldn’t really tell where and couldn’t focus long enough to look. Everything just hurts, he wants to rest, just for a minute.  
Ash gasped when he heard Lysandre chuckling. “There, now lets get on with this.” To his horror, Ash realized he slipped up and let his shield drop. Just like he predicted, he couldn’t bring it back. “NO WAIT! DON’T-” Acting quickly, the Mega Alakazam used it’s enhanced psychic abilities, and got a tight grip around Ash’s mind. Lysandre smiled as he watched Ash’s body go limp and his brown eyes turn red. 

“Get him some water, and keep him chained up until I say otherwise. Make sure Alakazam keeps a good hold on him.” Getting a “Yes sir!” from the two men in the room, the captain or the royal guards walked out. “World peace is right at our finger tips.”

_______________________________________________________

Standing outside with the other Team Flare members that were on guard duty, Alain did his best to tune out the others talking, deep in his train of thought. He never wanted this. He and Mairin were happy traveling together, Alain challenging anyone with a Mega pokemon, and Mairin cheering him on with her Chespin Chespy. That is, until Chespy got seriously ill.  
It was pretty bad. Chespy didn’t have the strength to stay awake, Mairin couldn’t rest as she constantly worried over her dear pokemon. So when they got to Lumiose Alain looked for work so they could get treatment for Chespy. He thought it was a gift from Arceus meeting Lysandre. He even offered to have special pokemon healers take care of Chespy as long as he worked for him.  
Though now, Chespy is being used as blackmail after he found out what Lysandre was really up to. Someone he considered as a friend was suffering, it seemed like everyone he cared about ended up suffering around him. “-If you ask me that little monster is getting what’s coming to him. Might as well make some use out of a dirty little Aura user.”

Next to him, Charizard growled at the man who said that. His pokemon was caught off guard when Alain stepped forward. “You don’t know anything about Ash.” The guard turned to face him and raised an eyebrow. “What, you actually care about that monster? It’s not like you’re doing anything to help him.” Blinded by a bright light, once he and the others could see, the one Team Flare member instantly regretted his words.  
Alain practically glared death at them as Mega Charizard stood beside him. “WELL I’M DOING SOMETHING NOW!”

__________________________________________________________

Steering the Gogoat to where Pikachu wanted them to go, Steven stayed focused on his mission. He glanced behind him through the little window of the cariage, seeing Clemont and Serena sitting tensely inside with their pokemon. They’ve been like that ever since they left, no one dared to break the sound of silence. Suddenly, Pikachu’s ears perked up. “Pika!”  
Looking where Pikachu was looking, Steven pulled on the Gogoat’s reins, making them come to a stop. Alerted that they came to a stop, Serena and Clemont rushed out of the carriage with their pokemon. They were greeted by a surprising sight. Alain and his Charizard stood there over unconscious Team Flare members and pokemon, looking very angry. Steven blinked in confusion. “Alain? What are you doing here?”  
Finally noticing they were there, Alain lifted his head towards them. Relief washed over him, as well as shock when he saw the little yellow pokemon. “Pikachu’s alive?!” Clemont looked between Pikachu and Alain confused. “What are you talking about? You thought he was dead?” Snapping out of his shock, Alain shook his head. “No time to explain, Ash needs help now! He’s inside!”

Not waiting another second, Clemont bolted for the stone building behind Alain. He never was much of a runner but adrenaline was pumping through his body. Serena and Steven were close behind, ordering their pokemon to attack anyone coming at them. They were all following Pikachu, who was trying to find his best friend’s sent. Deeper inside, more and more Team Flare members would try stopping them.   
At one point, they were stopped in their tracks when a large group of Team Flare members stood in their way. Acting fast, Steven grabbed his key stone, and with a bright flash, his Metagross Mega evolved. Using it’s improved psychic, Metagross lifted the people and pokemon and threw them out of the way. Steven turned to the two friends. “Keep going! We’ll hold them off!”  
Nodding, the two and the pokemon kept going. Clemont followed Pikachu until the little electric type came to a stop as a closed door. Sniffing it in order to confirm if Ash was in there, Pikachu backed up, then jumped and used iron tail, making the door crash down. What Pikachu saw made him freeze. “PIKA PI!”. Serena gasped and covered his mouth while Clemont stared in horror, before bolting inside the room with tears running down his face. “ASH!”


	15. Chapter 15

“Pikachu use Iron Tail NOW!” Following Clemont’s orders, Pikachu jumped up and swung his tail at the shackles holding his best friend. Both Clemont and Serena caught Ash as he fell, on their knees Clemont pulled Ash close. “Ash! Ash wake up!” even with the little light, he could see the injuries on his boyfriend, and it didn’t help that he was completely limp in Clemont’s arms.  
If it wasn’t for the heart beat on his chest and the warm small breaths against his neck Clemont would have feared the worse. Pikachu carefully licked Ash’s arm, trying to get some kind of reaction out of him. “Pika-pi.” Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, Clemont made sure Ash didn’t have anything to serious that needed immediate treatment before looking at Serena, who had tears in her eyes.  
“We need to go, He’s not in life threatening danger but he’s still badly hurt.” Nodding, Serena was about to help Clemont carry Ash, until they heard a voice behind them. “I’m sorry Prince Clemont, but he’s not going anywhere.” Turning around, Both Serena and Clemont looked shocked when they saw Lysandre, but for Clemont the shock quickly turned into anger as he held Ash protectively.

“You TRAITOR! I wasn’t surprised seeing Team Flare was behind this, but you as one of them?! This explains everything! How I got kidnapped in the first place, how those three managed to get in again and attack us, how Ash went missing! My family TRUSTED you!” Lysandre’s expression was blank as Clemont talked, not bothered at all from his words.  
“I’m doing what’s best for Lumiose and the world. When I realized Ash was an Aura user, I didn’t need you to get your father to give up the throne. Aura users are great tools for many things, negotiation is one of them, and if push comes to shove, he’d make a wonderful weapon.” Getting back on her feet, Serena stood between Lysandre and the boys, all their pokemon by her side.  
“How dare you use a human being like that! We won’t let you hurt Ash anymore for your stupid plan!” Lysandre sighed. “I hoped to avoid this, but I won’t let two children get in my way for world peace.” Nodding, Lysandre gave the okay to the Team Flare member and the Mega-Alakazam who were out of Clemont and Serena’s line of sight. Clemont gasped when Ash suddenly pulled himself out of Clemont’s arms and sat up.

“Ash! You shouldn’t be-!” Words got caught in Clemont’s throat as Ash turned to face him. Those beautiful chocolate eyes he loved so much were replaced by empty red eyes. Jumping to his feet, Clemont backed away as Ash stood up as well. “WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM?!” Lysandre smiled, watching as Ash easily obeyed Alakazam’s orders. “He’s under my control now. Ash, deal with the intruders."   
Clemont and Serena watched in horror as Ash lifted his hand, and created an Aura energy ball so bright it hurt their eyes. Before he could fire it though, Pikachu jumped up and shoved his arm. All of the people and pokemon ducked when the Aura made the stone wall explode into dust, making the doorway wider then it was earlier. Grabbing Serena’s wrist, Clemont pulled her along as he ran.  
The maid looked behind her to make sure the pokemon were following then back at Clemont. "What about Ash?!” The Prince clenched his fist,angry about this whole situation. “We can’t help him if they make him kill us first!” They cried out in alarm when another blast of Aura barely missed them. Tripping over a rock that was scattered on the ground from the blast, Clemont ended up dragging Serena with him as he hit the ground.

Flipping himself over, Clemont gasped as he saw Ash come right at them. Luxray, Pikachu, Brixan, Sylveon, and Panchum were ready to defend their friends, when Mega Metagross suddenly got in front of them and blocked the attack with it’s own body. Steven rushed over and helped the two back on their feet as Metagross held off the controlled knight. “What happened to Ash?!”Serena glared past Metagross and Ash, where Lysandre was standing.   
“Lysandre happened, he’s part of Team Flare and is controlling Ash against his will! Though I had no idea Ash was such a strong Aura user!” Clemont watched Ash and Metagross fight with wide eyes. “Because he’s not. He was never that powerful, he’s being pushed to use to much Aura while fighting!”  
CRASH! The three gasped as Metagross was slammed into a wall, it’s mega form disappearing. “METAGROSS!” Steven’s hand went for his sword, but he hesitated. “How are we suppose to fight him like this? I don’t want to hurt him, but you two shouldn’t get hurt either!” Clemont didn’t respond, he was to busy lost in his train of thought over this situation.

Ash was living his worse nightmare, he told Clemont about something like this happening to other Aura users. This never would have happened if he didn’t ask him to stay and train him in the first place. If he never asked Ash to stay, they wouldn’t have fallen for each other and fallen for this trap. This was his fault, Ash was suffering, he had to fix it or else everyone he cared for would be in trouble.   
Stepping forward, Clemont ignored Serena and Steven’s calls out to him to stop as he got closer to his controlled boyfriend. “Ash, it’s me, Clemont. I know you’re really scared right now, and you’re really hurting, but please Ash I’m begging you, PLEASE FIGHT THIS! I KNOW YOU CAN!” Lysandre raised an eyebrow as he watched this. what in the world was Prince Clemont thinking?  
The Prince didn’t flinch when Ash, with a blank face, raised his glowing hand towards him, he kept going. “You’re stronger then this, don’t let them use you like you’re nothing but a tool! You’re Ash Ketchum, you’re from Pallet Town, your best friend is Pikachu, you’ve traveled all around the world, you’ve met legendary pokemon, you’ve made so many friends, and you stole my heart." 

Taking Ash’s other hand that wasn’t glowing with powerful Aura, Clemont felt his heart jump in his chest when he felt the fingers twitch. He was reaching him! The Prince stared deeply into those empty red eyes, praying they’d turn back to the brown color he loved so much. "I’m sorry this happened to you, this never should have happened. You never did anything wrong, all you did was care about me. I’m sorry I failed my promise.”  
lifting Ash’s hand up, he gently kissed his cold knuckles. “I will get you out of here though, I swear.” For a moment, it looked like Clemont’s words were starting to really reach Ash and pull him out of the control. His fingers curled around Clemont’s hand, and those red eyes were starting to fill with a small hint of confusion. Standing a few feet behind Ash, Lysandre turned around and glared at the Team Flare member and his Alakazam.  
“Do NOT loose control of him!” Responding with a “Yes sir!” the other man ordered his Alakazam to get a better grip on Ash and make him keep fighting. Clemont felt his stomach drop when he saw Ash’s eyes go plank again, and a bright light started filling his vision. Serena screamed his name as Steven tried rushing to him, but faster then anyone, Luxray bolted for his friend and shoved him to the ground.

BOOM! Groaning, Clemont made himself get on his knees and looked up, gasping when he saw his pokemon laying on the ground, curled up in pain. “LUXRAY!” Rushing to his pokemon, making sure he wasn’t dangerously wounded, Clemont looked up at Ash, who was making another Aura energy ball. “Ash fight it! Don’t let them control you like this! Please Ash!"   
His words barely had any effect anymore. Luxray struggled to get back to his feet to defend Clemont again if he needed to, and Steven had his sword out, praying he didn’t have to use it. Though to everyone’s surprise, Pikachu suddenly jumped in front of Clemont and screamed at the top of his lungs. "PIKA PIIIIIIIIIII!” Everything seemed to come to a stop.  
The silence was tense, Lysandre watched anxiously. Before he could try ordering the man and pokemon behind him, and Aura energy ball barely missed him by inches as it slammed right into the Mega-Alakazam, making it crash into it’s master along with his own Pyroar, and sending them to the ground, the mega form of Alakazam disappearing. The captain of the royal guards watched in shock as Ash, eyes brown again, panted while glaring at him.

Taking a deep breath, Ash pulled up one last bit of energy before letting out a mighty cry and slamming an Aura energy ball right in the middle of Lysandre’s chest. It was far from as strong as the other ones he was throwing around, but this attack was enough to send Lysandre crashing to the ground, out cold. Seeing Ash starting to sway, Clemont quickly got on his feet and caught him as he fell over.   
“ASH!” Pikachu quickly rushed to their side. “PIKA PI!” Looking over at Pikachu, Ash smiled tiredly with tears running down his face as he managed to lift his hand. Pikachu quickly nuzzled against it, licking Ash’s palm. “Pikachu, you’re okay. Th-they told me you were gone. Fed to the Pyroars…” Clemont glared over at unconscious Lysandre, no wonder Alain was surprised to see Pikachu alive.  
Looking back at Ash, Clemont gently kissed his forehead. “Pikachu’s okay Ash, so are you.” Smiling at Clemont, Ash tried to fight off his heavy eye lids trying to close. Clemont noticed. “You should rest, you deserve it after all of this.” Giving in, Ash closed his eyes and mumbled before drifting off. “You’ll be there when I wake up right? I missed that cute face of yours…”

Feeling his face blush, Clemont sadly chuckled as tears ran down his face. “I will. I’ll never leave your side again.” When he didn’t get a response, Clemont finally let his emotions out now that Ash couldn’t see. He held Ash close as he let tears waterfall down his face, worry, anger, sadness, and self blame let loose in sobs. He felt as Luxray curled around them, and Serena place a hand on his shoulder in comfort.  
After a few minutes, once Clemont got a hold of himself, he and Serena carried Ash out of the horrible place. Steven stayed behind with Alain in order to take care of Team Flare and Lysandre until Clemont sent someone out there to help them. While Serena steered the Gogoat, Clemont tended to Ash inside the carriage, doing his best until they could get professional help.  
Once Clemont was done, he rested Ash’s head on his lap, Luxray and Pikachu stayed close to Ash to keep him warm and comfortable. The tears coming from Clemont haven’t stopped, and he doubted they will anytime soon, but right now he was just happy to hold Ash as he brushed his thumbs over the marks on Ash’s cheeks. Leaning over to give Ash one more kiss on the forehead, Clemont patiently waited to arrive back home.


	16. Chapter 16

By the time they got back to Lumiose it was obvious Meyer just found the note Clemont left, because when the carriage pulled past the castle gates, they were greeted by a search party about to head out. Thankfully, Serena got them to move out of the way so they could get the carriage closer to the castle and get some help for Ash. To say people where surprised to hear that Prince Clemont went out and saved his boyfriend knight was an understatement.  
Clemont was currently sitting outside the room where the royal doctors where checking on Ash. Pikachu on his lap and Luxray, who had a few bandages wrapped around his injuries, was resting by his feet. Bonnie even came to join him, who was sitting next to her big brother. “So, Aura users aren’t really bad people?” Clemont shook his head.  
“Aura Users are just people. Do you think Ash is a bad person because he’s one?” Looking down at Dedenne in her lap, Bonnie shook her head. “When they said he was controlling you I was really confused, because Ash is a great person. He’d sneak me treats from the kitchen even when Daddy told me to wait until after dinner, and when you were busy with Prince stuff he’d play with me!”

Clemont chuckled, remembering how he walked in on Ash sitting though one of Bonnie’s tea parties. Poor Ash looked so embarrassed being forced to wear one of Bonnie’s tiaras and a colorful fluffy boa. When Clemont questioned how he got into that situation, Ash told him Bonnie gave him her sad face. No one could say no to Bonnie’s sad face look. It could even make a stubborn battle warrior play with her.   
Bonnie leaned against her brother and pressed her cheek on his arm. “I don’t think Ash is a bad person. Lysandre a very bad person and he isn’t an Aura user, I never liked him anyways. Such a meanie.” Clemont was about to completely agree with her, until they noticed their dad approaching them. Knowing that her dad and brother was about to get really serious, Bonnie got up from her seat and started walking away.  
“Tell Ash I said feel better soon!” With Bonnie gone, Clemont was left alone with his father. Looking up at Meyer, the Prince could tell he wasn’t happy with the very serious look on his face. Crossing his arms, Meyer broke their silence. “How many times do you plan on scaring me like this? You planned on confronting Team Flare ALONE? Clemont I know you’re smarter then this, so what where you thinking?!”

Swallowing nervously, Clemont nervously gripped his knees. “That Ash needed me.” Pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration, Meyer let out a heavy sigh. “Clemont I know you were worried about him, and I’m glad Ash is safe now, but going off with only two other people and a handful of pokemon is a suicide mission! You’re lucky you didn’t get killed from this!”  
Getting down on one knee, Meyer stared straight in his son’s eyes. “I never want you to do something like this again. As a king you can’t go running into these situations without thinking of the consequences!” Taking a deep breath, Clemont stared right back at his dad. “I thought about the consequences! If I showed up there any later Ash would be in worse shape then he is now and innocent people would be at risk because of Lysandre!”  
Just thinking of that no good man Lysandre right now made Clemont’s skin crawl, Pikachu even growled at the mention of him. Thankfully he sent some knights and guards off to Alain and Steven to arrest the Team Flare members. If he could help it, Lysandre will sit all alone in the deepest darkest cell for the rest of his miserable life for betraying the kingdom, betraying his family, and hurting his Ash.

“Besides, if you were in the same situation, wouldn’t you have done the same for Mom?” That got the King to pause. Meyer placed his hand on top of Clemont’s “Of coarse I would, but Clemont please, I love you andyour sister dearly. I don’t know what I would do if something happened to either of you. Please promise if something like this ever happens again, come to me before you go running off.”  
Clemont nodded, wrapping his arms around his dad as Meyer hugged back. “Okay Dad.” Right at that moment, one of the royal doctors came out of the room. Pulling away from the hug, Clemont and Meyer stood up waiting for what he had to say, Pikachu didn’t even wait and jumped out of Clemont’s arms rushing past them man. The doctor cleared his throat.  
“Ash will be fine. Other then a few cuts and deep bruising he’s just extremely exhausted. He just needs to sleep it off, but he will be pretty sour when he wakes up.” Sighing in relief, Clemont turned to his dad. “I want Ash moved to my room. I’d feel more comfortable if he was resting somewhere close to me so I can take care of him and well guarded.”

Meyer nodded in understanding and ordered for Ash to be moved. Once in Clemont’s room, everyone left, leaving the Prince alone with his knight and their pokemon. Clemont pulled his beds sheets up to Ash’s chin and kissing his forehead before sitting down on a chair he pulled close to the bed. Pikachu jumped onto the bed and curled up to his best friend, watching closely for when Ash showed signs of waking up. Neither of them were planning on moving any time soon. 

________________________________________________

Cracking his heavy eyelids open, it took Ash a moment for his eyes to adjust to the dark in the room before realizing he was in Clemont’s bedroom again. He could also tell he was in Clemont’s bed because he felt like he was laying on a nice toasty cloud. How did he get here anyways? Last thing he remembered Lysandre was holding him prisoner and Clemont was-   
Memories suddenly rushed back. Most of it was blurry, but he could definitely remember how he attempted to attack Clemont and their friends. Attempting to sit up, Ash grunted and flopped back down on the bed when his muscles yelled at him. Stupid Lysandre, because of him he’s going to feel this for a while. Settling for looking around while laying down, Ash tilted his head and felt himself relax when he found Clemont.  
His Prince Charming didn’t exactly look very charming at the moment with his head resting on the side of the bed and his hair a mess. Even in the dull lighting from a burning candle near by, Ash could clearly see bags under Clemont’s eyes. The knight was just glad he was okay. Suddenly, Ash could feel something move near his hip. Looking, a big smile crossed his face when he saw his best friend rubbing his eyes tiredly. “Pikachu!”

Now wide awake from the sound of Ash’s voice, Pikachu’s face lit up when he saw that he was awake. “Pika pi!” Pulling his arms out from under the blankets, Ash held them up as Pikachu jumped into them. The knight hugged his pokemon as tightly as he could with his tired arms. “Buddy, I’m so happy to see you! I’m so glad you’re okay! I thought I lost you…"   
Lifting his head from Ash’s chest, Pikachu licked the bottom of his best friend’s chin as if to reassure him that he’s just fine. Ash chuckled and rubbed the corner of his eye. He and his best friend were back together again. "A-Ash?” Turning his head, Ash mentally slapped himself for waking Clemont up. The Prince was currently sitting up staring at Ash in total shock, so Ash smiled at him. “Hey Clem.”  
His smile quickly dropped though when he saw Clemont’s eyes fill up with tears. Letting go of Pikachu, Ash turned himself towards Clemont and held up his arm towards Clemont. “Hey hey, Clemont it’s okay-” He was quickly cut off by Clemont. “No it’s not okay! Ash I’m so sorry!” Pausing for a moment, Ash sighed an let his arm drop, he knew this would happen. “Clemont it’s not your-”

He was cut off again as Clemont removed his glasses and wiped away his tears. “Yes it is! It was all my fault from the beginning! If I never got caught in the first place you never would have saved me and the Lysandre would have never wanted to use you like that! You went through your worst nightmare because of me being a prince in distress! If we never met you wouldn’t have been hurt like that!”  
Sniffling, Clemont put his glasses back on and stared at his lap, unable to look Ash in the eye. “I understand if you don’t want to be with me anymore. Once you’re healed you can leave if you wish-” Arms suddenly wrapped around Clemont within a blink of an eye, and Clemont could feel Ash’s warm cheek against his. “Shut up Clem. You shouldn’t say stuff like that about yourself, EVER.”  
Ignoring his very angry muscles, Ash pulled away from Clemont a bit, scooped him up, and pulled him onto the bed with him and Pikachu. Cupping Clemont’s face, Ash made his Prince look at him as he wiped away those tears that kept rolling down his face. “Now you listen to me and you listen good. I, do not, blame you.” Clemont opened his mouth to say something but Ash beat him to it. 

“And don’t you dare say this was your fault! Lysandre just had a twisted idea thinking that taking over the world by force would reach world peace. If I never showed up he would have used you against your father to get the throne. I will NEVER regret the moment I sensed your Aura, I will NEVER regret becoming your knight, and I will NEVER regret that night during the ball in the garden.”  
Reaching up, Clemont put his hands over Ash’s and rubbed his cheek into Ash’s palm as he continued. “Neither of us saw this coming, but it’s over now. the worst of it is over, and all of us are still alive. Even after all of that, my feelings for you haven’t changed at all. You’re Prince Clemont, you will someday rule Lumoise, you’re loyal pokemon is Luxray, you invent the most amazing things ever, you’re a great cook, you have a loving family, and you stole my heart.”  
Clemont could feel his heart thump hard in his chest when Ash said the last part. “Y-you actually heard me when I said all of that? I thought only Pikachu was able to completely reach you?” Ash smiled softly, taking Clemont’s hand and kissing his warm knuckles. “Realizing he was alive did help me snap out of it, but you were pretty close. Started putting up a huge mental fight when you walked up to me while I was about to attack, never do that again by the way.”

Clemont chuckled a little as Ash started pulling him down to lay down with him in bed. Messing around with the sheets a bit, Ash managed to get them around his Clemont and pull him close. He carefully pulled off his boyfriend’s glasses and set them down on the side table next to the bed. “You can fill me in on what happened afterwards in the morning. Right now I’m to tired to care.”  
Snuggling close to his Ash, Clemont reached into his pocket. “Well, I’m sure you’ll be glad to know Lysandre won’t come near you ever again. He’s in a dungeon outside the castle and Team Flare disbanded.” Ash scoffed. “Good riddance.” Taking a deep breath, Clemont squeezed something in his hand tightly. “You sure you still want to marry me Ash?”  
Cupping Clemont’s chin, Ash tilted his head up and gave him a kiss on the lips for a moment before pulling away. “Absolutely.” Feeling his face warm up, Clemont carefully took Ash’s hand and finally slipped the ring on his finger. “They finished them before you were taken but I wanted to add my own touch to it… I hope you like it.” Lifting up his hand, Ash squinted at the ring before a smile came across his face.

“You carved a little Pikachu into it! Wow Clemont that’s so amazing! Check it out buddy, a little you!” Letting Pikachu inspect the ring himself excitedly, Ash looked back at Clemont, giving him another kiss. “I love it Clemont!” Smiling, Clemont pulled on a string he had around his neck and pulled out the wire ring Ash made him. “I feel like I had to do something special for you after the way you proposed."   
Ash snorted. "Oh wow you still have that? I just made it out of old wiring you had sitting in your lab.” Tucking the wire ring back under his shirt, Clemont snuggled closer to Ash. “It’s what you proposed with, it may be old wire but it’s more valuable to me then gold.” Ash could feel his face warm up from Clemont’s words and closed his eyes. “Aw Clem. Lets get some sleep, even in the dark I can tell you haven’t slept well in a while.”  
Nodding, Clemont closed his eyes as well. “Good night Ash…..I love you.” Waiting nervously for a response, Clemont relaxed when he felt Ash pull him closer and kiss his forehead. “Good night Clemont. I love you too.”


	17. Chapter 17

Things in the kingdom got, complicated, to put it lightly. Word of Lysandre being a traitor spread like a wildfire, though so did word of Ash being back. The citizens had many mixed feelings, and thankfully Meyer was doing his best to calm the whole situation down. There were a few problems inside the castle as well, some guards and knights didn’t exactly agree with the whole “Aura users aren’t evil.” thing.  
Some who had the nerve would try confronting the Prince about it, but Steven wouldn’t allow them near Clemont’s bedroom door, even Serena would give them a stern talking to and make them leave. Eventually things calmed down enough inside the castle, which gave Ash a good chance to stretch his legs and get out of Clemont’s bedroom for a while.  
Walking through the halls with their pokemon, Clemont held tightly to Ash’s hand as they talked about future plans. “We’ll probably need to talk to the citizens ourselves sooner or later in order to calm them down. Also some of the kingdom’s allies are a little worried with us having an Aura user by our side, we’ll need to talk to them too.” Ash nodded as he listened.

“You sure I’m not causing to much problems for your family? I could lay low for a while if it’ll help.” Clemont shook his head and gave Ash’s hand a squeeze. “Don’t worry about it, you’re not causing any problems, those people are just paranoid and judgy. If they got a problem with you they can just deal with it.” Smiling at Clemont, Ash looked ahead of them, and gasped when he saw Alain and his Charizard walk out of a room. “Alain wait!”  
Pausing, Alain turned around and saw the Prince and his knight rush towards him. “Ash, I’m glad you’re doing okay. I’m, really sorry about-” Ash held up his hand to cut him off. “No, Alain I should be apologizing. Clemont told me everything. I shouldn’t have accused you like that, you had no idea that they planned that and they were holding Marian’s Chespy hostage. I’m really sorry.”  
Smiling a little, Alain held out his hand to Ash. “You shouldn’t apologize either, I would be just as upset if I thought I lost Charizard. So, how about we forgive and forget?” Nodding, Ash grabbed Alain’s hand and shook it. “Forgive and forget. Congrats on becoming the new Captain of the Royal Gaurds by the way.” Chuckling, the new captain looked over at Clemont. “I have the Prince to thank for that.”

Clemont blushed a little and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “It was nothing, you earned it anyways. So, how is Chespy doing? Are the castle’s pokemon doctors able to help it?” Alain frowned and sighed. “Barely, Chespy is pretty sick. They told Marian to prepare for the worst…” Hearing that the pokemon Alain worked so hard for was doing poorly got Ash thinking, he had to do something to help but what?  
“Hey Clem, wasn’t there a section in my Aura book about healing?” Raising an eyebrow, Clemont nodded. “Well, yes, but we haven’t gotten that far yet. It’s pretty advanced Ash.” Now determined, Ash looked up at Alain. “Meet us in the pokemon medical wing of the castle in a few minutes.” Turning around, Ash tugged Clemont along back to their room, leaving Alain slightly confused. Clemont gave Ash a concerned look.  
“Ash are you sure you can pull off an advanced healing move? You might hurt yourself trying.” Looking at Clemont, Ash gave his best determined smile while he used his free hand to pat Pikachu. “I’m sure I can pull it off, Alain did this all for Marian because she loves her Chespy. I want to help if it means helping someone’s special pokemon partner. Right Pikachu?”

His partner nodded with a “Pika!” Clemont sighed, knowing he wasn’t going to be able to change Ash’s mind. His heart was to big. “Okay just, please be careful.” Leaning over, Ash pecked his Prince’s cheek with a kiss. “I’ll try to be careful for you Clem.”

___________________________________________

Holding sleeping Chespy close to her chest, Marian looked at Ash hopefully. “You really think you can help Chespy?” Looking over the healing page in his book with Clemont one more time, Ash walked over to the young maid and held out his arms. “Yeah, I promise I’ll do my best.” Before Marian handed chespy to him, she gave her beloved pokemon a quick hug before gently placing him in the knight’s arms.  
Alain placed his hands on Marian’s shoulders as they all watched Ash used his Aura. The two of them gasped as Chespy started to give off a weak greenish glow, Clemont quickly explained as he watched Ash nervously. “That’s Chespy’s Aura color, when being healed the Aura becomes visible to others. It’s what Ash sees all the time.” Alain stared in amazement. “It’s amazing…”  
Over time, the weak glow coming from Chespy grew brighter. After a few more minutes the glowing disappeared and Ash panted, holding Chespy in one arm while wiping his forehead with the other. “Oh wow that’s tiring.” Feeling movement, Ash looked down and smiled when he saw the little pokemon in his arms crack his eyes open and blink tiredly. “Well good morning little guy.”

Staring at Ash confused, Chespy looked around until he spotted Marian, smiling, the grass type held out his arms to her. “Ches Chespin!” With tears of joy in her eyes, Marian squealed as she scooped up Chespin into her arms and hugged him tightly. “CHESPY! I’m so glad you’re okay! Oh Ash thank you! That was amazing!” Chuckling, Ash pointed at Alain.  
“Well if Alain didn’t care so much about you and Chespy none of this wouldn’t have happened.” Spinning right around to face the new captain of the guards, Marian wrapped an arm around Alain. “He’s right! Thank you for being an amazing friend Alain! You’re wonderful!” Alain chuckled and hugged his friend back, petting Chespy as well. “You’re welcome Marian. I’m just glad Chespy’s okay.”  
When the two friends pulled away Alain looked at Ash. “That was very impressive Ash. I had no idea Aura users could do that.” The knight just shrugged, letting Pikachu jump back onto his shoulder and walking over to his Prince. “Well Aura users are kinda secretive. He can’t exactly show off our skills without some backlash from some people.”

Clemont wrapped his arm around Ash. “Who knows, maybe we can change that someday when we become kings.” Looking over at Clemont, Ash smiled and gave him a kiss. “Yeah, maybe we can.”

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Early one morning in Lumiose. Inside the castle, the door to the Kings room slowly creeks open. Within the room two figures were sleeping like the dead after a long day. Even the pokemon sleeping next to the bed haven’t woken up by the sound of the door opening. Slowly, something crept into the room, carefully towards the end of the bed, before taking a running leap and jumping onto the bed, and onto the sleeping people. “GOOD MORNING PAPA AND PÈRE!”  
Both Kings grunted in alarm when their 6 year old daughter Sparkle jumped on them. Ash groaned and rubbed his tired face. “Good morning Sparkle…” Now that their parents were awake, the young 3 year old boy nervously walked into the room, and scooped tired Pikachu into his little arms. “Good Morning.” Sitting up, Clemont reached over and picked up their son, pulling him into his lap. “Good morning Dusty.”  
Looking out the window, Clemont saw what time of day it was. “We apparently slept in pretty late. Have you to eaten breakfast?” Both kids shook their heads no, Sparkle jumped down from the bed and petted Luxray. “We were waiting for you to wake up because we want you to cook!” Clemont sighed as Ash chuckled. Sitting up, the co-King handed his husband his glasses. “You do make the best breakfasts in this kingdom Clem.”

After shooing their kids out so they could get dressed and ready for the day, the family walked into the kitchen and watched as Clemont cooked. Being held in his Papa’s arms, Dusty started to play with his Aura abilities, trying to make a ball of energy. Ash chuckled. “Not bad, how about today we do a little training?” Dusty looked up at his Papa and nodded with a smile.  
Sparkle pouted. “How come Dusty gets the cool Aura powers like Papa? All the fun people in town have Aura powers.” Clemont chuckled and looked at their daughter. “Because he was born with them. Not many people are born with it, but most Aura users live here because it’s safe here.” Over the years, Clemont and Ash did make a difference in the world.  
Lumiose was officially an Aura user sanctuary. People all over the world came here for peace and to make a living, making the kingdom thrive and become a good place for business. Some of their neighboring kingdoms even started taking in Aura users. Ash became a very important figure for all Aura users as well, helping others as much as he can.  
Once Clemont was done cooking, the family sat down in the dining room to eat. Sparkle talked excitedly about her plans for the day as Dusty listened carefully to his sister. 

Looking down at the ring on finger, Clemont smiled when he saw looked over at Ash’s hand and saw the pikachu ring on his finger as well. Reaching over, the King held his husband’s hand and leaned against him.  
Pausing from eating, Ash looked at Clemont. “Still tired?” Shaking his head, Clemont squeeze Ash’s hand. “No, I’m just happy to have all of this.” Ash chucked and kissed Clemont’s head. “Me too Clem.”

the end. :D


End file.
